Take Back The Worlds
by GirlOfMyOwnWorld
Summary: SEQUEL TO 'A WITHER AGAINST THE WORLD' Liam has what he's always wanted; a brother to care for. As he tries his best to fill in for all the years he's been gone, being a half-member of the New Order has it's tolls. Before he knew it, he was on new adventures with new friends and his girlfriend. (RECOMMENDED: Read "A Wither Against The World" first!)
1. Note 1

Good morning/afternoon/evening all!

Gommie here and back with the sequel to A Wither Against The World. At the moment, there is no title because no one has actually played the new episode yet. (Well, technically, Telltale has, but no _fan_ has played the game.)

Anyways, welcome back! I am pumped to start with this story and for the new releases coming soon!

Just like in 'A Wither Against The World,' I will have a prologue and an epilogue. Problem is, I don't have any ideas to start for a prologue, so YOU give me some! Review down below with whatever you want to see before I jump into the real thing!

Thank you for reading 'A Wither Against The World' and I hope you enjoy this one!

-GirlOfMyOwnWorld


	2. Prologue: Chapter 1

The first thing Liam did on a bright July morning was wake the others up.

"Come on, get dressed, hurry!" He whispered hastily, having to jump on Axel's bed just to get him up.

"Jeez, Liam, what's got you so jumpy today?" Axel mutters, rubbing his eyes as he sat on the side of his bed.

"Did you honestly forget, giant green freak?" Liam asks, turning around with a raised eyebrow.

"Ohh! I remember now, I better go get it!" Axel quickly walked over to a chest, digging through it's contents for whatever _it_ was.

"Good." Liam walks out, heading to Petra's room. He found her buried in the covers, and chuckles at her weird position. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." He spoke softly, shaking her shoulder. No matter _who_ it was, Petra would always attempt to bite the hand of whoever is trying to wake her. She successfully bit her own boyfriend's hand once, and apologized repeatedly as he healed up.

"Ngghhhhhh." Petra groaned, muttering something about 'five more minutes' and turning away.

"Come on, Peets." Liam rolls his eyes at her, then began to walk to the cauldron in the corner. He took a bucket of water and Petra was up and at 'em when she heard the water going into the bucket.

"I'm up, I'm up, don't-" Petra began, but Liam had already splashed her. "Splash me.." She mutters, wiping the water from her face. Liam let out an almost-silent laugh.

"Sorry, Peets. Had to." Liam kisses her cheek before leaving her be. "I know you still love me!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He heard Petra grumble before he closed the door behind him.

Liam had let the Ocelots, his mother, and the remainder of the Old Order in earlier so they could begin preparing the area by the lake for a birthday celebration. Jessie, Olivia, Axel, and Petra had joined them not too long ago, and Jack and Lupin were running late. They had gone out to hunt cows for the large group. (Everyone swore never to kill another pig. You should know why.)

"Alright, is everything set?" Liam called out to the group, who were mostly chatting, but now their attention was on Liam.

"Everything's gotta be good. He only turns 20 once, am I right?" Liam asks, to which the majority of the group nod. Jack entered through the gate with Lupin behind him.

"Sorry for being a bit late. Ran into some skeletons while taking the shortcut." The blackette apologized, passing Liam and heading to the chest by the furnaces. He put his stash in there, along with his sword.

"You're fine; Lukas still hasn't woken up yet. He stayed up late working on a potion. I suggested he should take up potionmaking, and he took it pretty seriously, I guess." Liam shrugged, as Ivor took out a clock.

"It's almost noon. Shouldn't you go and wake him up?" He pointed out, stashing away the clock and glancing at Kelly, who approved. Liam nods with a grin.

"Alright, everyone in your spots!" Liam ordered, walking back into the home to search for his brother. The party goes to a hiding place, even Lupin, as Liam closes the door behind him.

The older sibling found Lukas, hunched over his desk with a quill in his hand. He was jotting down notes for a potion he was working on, copying them from another book that previous night. Liam opens the door slowly as not to awaken his brother. The blond smiles, walking up to his brother's hunched figure and shaking his shoulder gently.

"Lukas, come on, buddy, wake up." Liam spoke softly, as Lukas reacted much like Petra. A mutter of 'five more minutes.' "Alright, I guess I'm gonna go find mom and make her show Jessie _all_ the baby pictures of you that she painted-" Liam felt someone tackle him to the ground, and he laughs, knowing it was Lukas trying to stop him.

"Please don't." Lukas pinned Liam in his spot, not wanting to get embarrassed. Liam just laughs. "Oh, that was a shortcut to wake me up, huh?" Liam nods, still laughing at his brother. "Hardee-har-har, you're gonna get it!" Lukas exclaimed, going for Liam's weakness; tickling. Liam kept laughing, trying to pry Lukas off of him.

"N-no, s-st-stop!" He kept laughing, breathing heavily when Lukas finally stood up and off of him. Liam lied on the floor like a dead man, yet he was still breathing, of course. ( _Flashback to ending of A Wither Against The World.)_ (I'm so evil.) "So, you ready, birthday boy?" Liam asks, still lying on the floor as his brother walks around the room, putting various items away and getting his Ocelot jacket back on.

"Wait, what?" Lukas froze and looked at his brother, who jumped back onto his feet.

"You don't remember, don't you? It's July 24th! It's your birthday!" Liam exclaims, punching his brother's shoulder as he did so.

"What? It-It's my birthday?"

"Yes, come on!" Liam grabbed his brother's wrist and led him through the halls. The older sibling was more excited than ever. Why, you ask? Because it's Lukas's first birthday since Liam returned to his life.

And making today a perfect day for him meant a lot to Liam. Especially after being gone for so long.

 **There you have it! The first chapter of the sequel!**

 **Can anyone tell me what they think I might do? (hint hint: let it go)**

 **(And, since I can't exactly reply to your review, AngelicTea, do not worry. I will still pull your idea in at some point. Thank you for the suggestion!)**


	3. Prologue: Chapter 2

**Well, well, back with another chapter! Just a fair warning; this may be the last chapter for a bit of a while. Softball is starting and it isn't going take up ALL of my time, but most of it. Then there's school and homework. And Episode 5 on Tuesday! Whoo!**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**

Liam sneezed as the two brothers walk the hallways.

"Uh, Liam, are you alright? You've sneezed at least six times in the past two minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Liam just waved it off. He did _not_ want to admit that he had a cold. It wasn't him to get sick. It was a huge day not only for his brother, but also for himself and he didn't want to ruin it with just a sneeze.

"Are you sure? Because I'd much rather take care of you than celebrate my own birthday." Lukas placed a hand on Liam's back, the two coming to a stop at a corner in the hallway.

"I said, I'm fine. Come on." Liam began leading the way again and he opens the door.

"But… no one's here…" Lukas looks around at the barren landscape. He didn't spot the presents at first, but he did see the snack table and the furnaces. Fireworks launched and exploded and the party of people jumped from their hiding spots, yelling,

"SURPRISE!" Liam's sneeze was drowned out with the the cheers and the chatter of everyone approaching Lukas and wishing him a happy birthday. Liam stood off to the side, screwing his eyes shut as he tried to get his body under control.

Before anyone knew it, it was time to open presents. Kelly had given him a painting of him and his brother, as they look like now. The Old Order gave him some of Ivor's potion ingredients, of which Ivor himself didn't mind handing over. The New Order, however, had given him books. On history. (Jessie may have given Lukas a kiss on the cheek. (whoops)). The Ocelots had given him a new book and quill to write in. Liam's gift, however, wasn't in the stash.

"Uhm, Liam, why isn't your gift in the stash?" Petra asks, pulling the older brother off to the side.

"Because it's not exactly something to be wrapped." He whispers, before feeling a sneeze come on. And a sneeze did come. Liam pushed Petra away, not wanting her in the splash zone as he turned away a little too.

"Liam, you have a cold, you will go inside right now and get into bed." Petra forced the boy. Liam opened his mouth to insist for the millionth time that he was fine, but she interrupted him with an "ah!" And when he tried again, she stopped him with a "hey!" As she began to push him towards the house.

"Look, can I at least give Lukas my present before going in?" Liam stopped, planting his feet into the ground and the couple have a staring contest; something they always did to see who would win the argument. Petra gave in with a sigh, crossing her arms.

"There, and to bed. You got that?" She asks, looking up at him.

"Thank you, Peets!" Liam couldn't have grinned wider, as he went to get Lukas from the Ocelots. "Hey, can I steal Lukas for, like, ten minutes?" Liam looks at the trio of Ocelots, grabbing Lukas's shoulder as he spoke.

"Sure." Gil replied before Aiden could make a snarky remark. Lukas nods, turning and following Liam off.

"Ready for my gift?" Liam asks, looking down at his younger brother.

"Oh heck yeah! I wonder what you got me." Lukas grins, giving the same, small jumpy-jump (like in Episode ⅔ (I forget which)) as Liam just laughs, before sneezing once again. Black dots swarmed his vision, making him stumble a little. Lukas turned serious, his grin going right to a thin line as his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"I'm fine." Liam shook his head before Lukas could even ask. Lukas heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair. Yet, he let his brother drag him off.

The brothers walk through the woods, talking to one another about all the birthdays celebrated before. Whether they were for Lukas, Liam, their mother, or even their father, the day still turned out to be one of those where you can look back and at least smile. Liam sneezes once again and falls back on his butt this time.

"I said, I'm fine! The gift is just a little up ahead." Liam sighs, rubbing his nose as he stood back up. The older sibling walk past Liam and into an opening that led to the huge ocean. Straight ahead was a pathway made of oak wooden planks that led to a gazebo. The gazebo itself was magnificent, made of a mixture of stone and oak wooden planks.

"Liam…" Lukas breathed, as he walked towards the pathway.

"You said you needed a place where you can relax. So, I answered." Liam gave a woozy grin, black spots dancing his vision.

"Liam, are you alright?" Lukas asks, looking at his brother.

"Come on, come on." Liam pulled his brother along in a drunken manner, going across the bridge. Lukas reluctantly followed him, while he was still in awe of the view. After they reached the gazebo, Liam leaned against one of the poles supporting the roof.

"Liam, this is amazing." Lukas smiles, looking around the ocean which stretched into the horizon.

"Yeah, you… like it…?" Liam mutters, and his knees came out from under him as he fell to the ground. The blond was weak from all the movement that day. Upon hearing the thump of Liam falling to the group, Lukas turns and finds his brother lying on the floor.

"Liam!" The younger one panics, getting on his knees next to his brother. Liam was in and out of it, as Lukas just sighs.

"Look, Liam, just admit it. We both know it." He spoke softly, as he pulls Liam into his arms. The older sibling sighs, meeting his brother's eyes.

"I have a cold."

Lukas was escorting his brother back. It was very much the evening, and the sun had begun to set. The Old Order, the Ocelots, and Kelly had already left when they got back, and Petra was pacing worriedly.

"What if something happened to Liam?" Petra stressed, not noticing the brothers coming in through the gate.

"I'm… fine." Liam sighs, still leaning on Lukas for support.

"He's not. I'm gonna take him in and get him something to eat." Lukas spoke up, leading the brother towards his room. Petra followed, taking the empty space by Liam's side.

"We'll clean up out here!" Jack called before the door closed.

Liam was now lying in his bed, Lukas at his side and reading a book once again. Seriously, when is he not reading a book? Petra walks in with some beef for her boyfriend, and she handed it to Lukas, quickly kissing Liam's forehead and muttering an 'I love you.' Before exiting the room. When she was gone, Liam sighs.

"I'm sorry that your birthday was ruined. I wanted to make this one TRULY count because, I mean, it's the first one that I'm back and you can't turn 20 more than once." The brother apologized, looking at Lukas before chomping on some of the beef. Lukas only laughs. "What? What's so funny?"

"This is actually the best birthday I've ever had, with or without you. By any means, I still get to take care of you. That was probably best present I got; finally taking care of my brother and not the other way around. Look, Liam…" Lukas met his eyes, "I really liked the party and the gifts and the food, but what I really wanted the whole time was to just spend some time with you." Liam smiles, finally relaxing for once. He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep, to which Lukas responds with pulling up the covers with a smile.


	4. Prologue: Chapter 3

The days were now nearing April 1st, a very special date. Why is that?

Because it was finally Liam's birthday.

Liam and Jack just took a few minutes out of the day to eat cake and open the present. And, well, let's just say things are going to go _much_ differently than how Liam used to do it.

The blond was rudely awakened by Lukas jumping on his bed.

"Liam, wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Lukas, let me sleep!" Liam groans, throwing a pillow at his brother, who falls off the bed and lands on his bum. Yet, the younger blond didn't oblige. Instead, Lukas took the pillow thrown at him and began hitting his brother with it.

"I said, wake up!" Lukas kept whacking Liam with the pillow, until Liam rolled over and groans once again.

"Alright, I'm up!" Liam grabbed the pillow from his brother's grasp, tossing it back into it's original place on the bed. "Why are you waking me up at-" the older brother began, groggily picking up the clock on his bedside table. " _Noon?!"_

"Oi, Liam, we let you sleep in today." Petra laughs at his reaction, walking into the room with Jessie, Jack, and Lupin.

"Do you even know date it is today, Liam?" Jack asks the blond, clapping him on the back.

"No…" Liam hesitantly spoke, saying it slowly as if trying not to anger them.

"It's April 1st, Liam!" Jessie exclaimed, a grin on her face as she goes and stands by Lukas.

"Wait, the 1st? That means-" Liam was quickly cut off by a chorus of 'Happy Birthday!' From the others. Liam ran a hand through his hair.

"It's my birthday, how could I have forgotten!" He breathed, a grin tugging at his lips as Petra hugs him.

"That's right! You're finally 24!" Jack ruffled his friend's hair, as Lupin barks twice. Liam hugged his girlfriend back, smiling at his friends.

"Thank you." Liam smiles at his friends, as Petra kissed his cheek.

"The guys are going to take you mining and then we're all gonna have dinner. We invited your mom and the Old Order over so we could could all have dinner together." Petra told him, releasing him from her arms.

"So, we'll see you guys later on!" Jessie gave the boys a smile before ushering Petra out of the room.

"You ready?"

"Heck yeah. Let's go." Liam grins, grabbing his sword, pickaxe, and a few other needed essentials before following his friend and brother out the door.

The trio of men with a wolf return home just as twilight was becoming night.

"That was fun. We were all quite lucky tonight." Lukas chuckles, his pickaxe resting on his shoulder. His hair was messed up from running from monsters, and some strands were still strayed, no matter how many times he ran his hand through his hair. "But seriously though, the funniest part was when Jack screamed like a girl." The brothers laugh as Jack turns a bit red.

"Come on, you would've screamed like a girl too if a spider snuck up on you and jumped into the lava you would be sizzling away in if you hadn't jumped out of the way!" Jack protested, unable to help himself and laughs along. "And, how it just fell into it's own trap by jumping into lava? Now _that_ was funny." Jack continued cracking up, and Liam and Lukas laugh harder. Olivia heard their laughs from almost a few hundred blocks away and opened the door to find them walking in through the distance.

"Come on, dinner's ready!" She called out to the group, who stop laughing to run into the cozy home. Olivia steps away from the door and allows the trio and wolf to run into the house, all of them getting to their rooms to clean up a little before joining the others at the table.

Dinner wasn't all that bad; they mainly ate in silence, the occasional conversation here and there.

"Hey, Liam, you and Lukas never really told us about what it was like before the incident that separated you." Axel looked at the birthday boy, who was seated just a little down the table from him.

"Yeah, mind filling in this immense awkward silence?" Magnus added in from next to Gabriel.

"Uh, sure." Liam looks at Lukas, who nods. "What _do_ you want to know, though?" Liam asks the giant.

"Well, everyone had a role in towns, right? What were yours and Lukas's roles?" Jessie asks, _totally_ not staring at Lukas as she asks her question.

"My role was pretty much a substitute. If someone was out sick from the wood crew, then I'd fill in for his spot. If someone hurt themselves while mining, I'd fill in for their next trip. You get the idea, right?" Liam looks around the group, who all nod. Most of them, like Petra and Gabriel, were leaning forward in their seats, intrigued.

"And mine was to help design buildings. Apparently, I was pretty nerdy for my age." Lukas chuckles, scratching the side of his head as he spoke.

"Ha! You were always holed up in your room, reading through books and books and books at night before bedtime." Liam grins, looking to his brother, who laughs.

"Liam, you were the one out wayyyyyyyy past bedtime." Kelly pointed out, to which Liam exclaimed a 'Mom!' And Lukas cracked up even more, holding his stomach.

"Boom!" Jack laughs, as it appeared Liam had gotten told by his own mother. The rest of the group laugh, and even Ivor managed a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah? You stayed up all night just to finish one painting." Liam gave a satisfied smirk-grin, pointing at his mother.

"It was for business!" Kelly insisted, pounding a fist on the table as she laughs too.

Dinner soon ended, much to their dismay as everyone was still cracking jokes and laughing as the Old Order left with Kelly. Jack bade goodbye and left with Lupin. Liam heaved a sigh as he dropped back onto his bed.

"Hey, at least you didn't get sick today." He heard Petra tell him from the door.

"That's a good thing." Liam chuckles, feeling the redhead make her way to the bed within the vibrations on the floor.

"It sure is a good thing indeed." Petra chuckles, getting comfy next to Liam, resting her head on his shoulder as the two are left in a slightly awkward silence, staring at the ceiling. "Did you like how your birthday went?" Petra asks, trying to make conversation.

"Nothing has changed, really. Just more people." Liam shrugs. "But other than that, I think today beats all my other birthdays."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because I have people to spend it with. I'm not saying that I didn't like it with just Jack and then Lupin, they made my birthdays the best they could when we were just out there and I always liked the effort they put into it. But this year… this year, I got to spend it with more friends. The Old Order, the New Order… And, I'm totally not forgetting about you, Peets." Liam chuckles, kissing her temple as he spoke. "But, I liked this year's birthday best of all because I had my mom and Lukas to spend it with. Dad never really believed in birthdays. He thought they were just a day, which they are, he's not wrong about that."

"He's not." Petra agreed, shifting herself to get comfortable, her head now resting on his chest as she listens to his heartbeat. Liam's arm curling around her, instinctively rubbing her back in circles as she relaxes. The redhead, now curled into a ball while using Liam's body for a pillow, sighs and closes her eyes as she let Liam go on.

"Anyways, my mother, my brother, and I, we all secretly celebrated with a cake when my father wasn't around. It was usually a few days after the birthday, mainly because he rarely leaves the house. Like mom said, I was the only one out late. Running around and getting stuff for him, you know the drill, right?" After Petra's hum of a 'Yes.' Liam continued. "Occasionally, through the year, he'd give out gifts, but they were just swords or pickaxes or other tools that I brought to him. Tools I rendered created by myself because he basically made them from materials I brought home." Petra just lets out a groan, as if saying, 'Ughhhhhhhhh, that cheat.' Liam chuckles a bit. "I know, right? Well, we have a long day tomorrow, so…"

"So, what?" Petra asks, as Liam sat up, taking Petra with him.

"Can I have a birthday-" Liam began, yet he was cut off by a pair of lips meeting his own. It only lasted a few moments before Petra pulled away.

"I-I have to tell you something." She twiddled her fingers as she spoke, looking down to the ground.

"What is it?" Liam became immensely concerned, hoping it wasn't bad. _It won't be, right? Right?_

"I-I'm pregnant." Petra managed out.

"WHAT? Wait, wait, wait, we didn't even- PETRA!" Liam panicked a bit before watching a devious grin creep onto her face.

"You shouldn't have your birthday on April Fools Day!" Was the last thing anyone could hear before Petra's laughs were heard as Liam tickled her endlessly.

 **Happy April Fools, everyone!**


	5. Episode 5: Chapter 4

**Oh my god. I am so mean. Kick my butt to write a chapter next time I take oVER A FREAKING MONTH. I plead you.**

 **I am so so so sorry for keeping you all waiting. I've been juggling school, softball (I play for two teams), and just getting ready for summer overall. I'll be heading to Las Vegas too. You probably won't see an update there, but maybe a triple when I'm home; it really depends.**

 **Buuuuuuuutttttttttttttt, I'm getting out of school on the 26th! WHOO HOO! That definitely gives me more time to write!**

 **Ah, enough about me and my life. Back to the story!**

 **By the way; it's a time skip to the beginning of May from the last chapter. (Which was April 1st.)**

"Ivor, why in the world do you have lava pouring out of your house? Why can't you live in the Nether where there's fire all over the place?" Jack exclaimed up at the man who was just laughing his butt off. More evil cackles than laughs, but you know what I mean.

"How were you not obsessed with the lava in the Nether?!" Liam exclaimed. Lukas was out of town for a bit, and he and Jack were just taking over for Jesse and the rest of the New Order while they were off to a temple that Ivor had told them about.

"Because it's more _dangerous_ in the Nether, idiots!" Ivor called down to the two boys. Jack and Liam just look at each other, both their faces reading, 'He's an imbecile.' "And, I was too busy running for my life!"

"Look, we'll let Jesse decide what to do about this." Liam sighs, shaking his head at the potion master. Cheers come from near the entrance of town, and Jack laughs.

"Speak of the devil." Liam chuckles along, turning to look for Petra. It had been a while since he had seen her, and Lukas out of town for the time being. There were still so many homes to repair. The scream of an elderly woman near the two boys.

"Alright, that wasn't a very welcoming scream." Liam hears Jesse say, as she shook her head. He turns to find only Axel, Olivia, and Jesse standing by him. No Petra.

"Where's Petra?" Liam questioned, before feeling a sudden weight on his back.

There she is.

"Heyyy." Petra grins, as her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Afternoon, Peets." Liam laughs, holding her up. Petra sighs, resting her head on his shoulder.

"My legs are soooooo tired." she whined, her voice slightly muffled by Liam's armor.

"Fiiiiiine, I'll carry you around, Your Highness." Liam rolls his eyes at the redhead on his back, and she shifted, getting comfy. Jack shook his head with a chuckle at the couple's antics.

"NOT MAH FAULT!" they hear Ivor bicker on with another citizen of the small town. Then there were calls for help that got Jesse's attention. "Oh, stop your whining! What are your pathetic injuries in comparison to my majestic tower?!"

"They both hurt." Liam heard Petra mutter, which made him snicker. Ivor caught Liam's snicker and rolls his eyes, turning his attention to the New Order that had arrived.

"Ivor?" Jesse questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah! You're back! Don't listen to a word these fools tell you." Ivor glared at some of the people below him from his perch on top of the tower.

"Are you kidding, this thing is a fire hazard!" an older woman exclaimed, looking to Jesse with clear hope in her eyes that they could tear it down.

"Your face is an ugly hazard, so I guess we're even!" Ivor called back down, and Liam heard Jesse sigh, before pulling in a breath.

"What's this weirdo structure you built?" she raised her voice in a questioning tone.

"It's my new house!" Ivor said simply, smiling down at the leader of the New Order. "It's also a, uh, contribution to the community!" Ivor racks his brain for a way it could be a 'contribution to the community.' To Liam, he took too long, making the blond shake his head. "Because… if anyone's short on lava, they know the place! And! And, and, and, this place could be a huge garbage chute of sorts!"

"He does have a bit of a point with the garbage thing." Jack shrugs, but let Jesse hold control of the situation.

"Jesse, all I want is what any man wants; a little house of my own-" Ivor began.

"Wait for it." Liam heard Petra mutter.

"-with loads of lava pouring out of it."

"There it is." Petra chuckles softly, making Liam laugh. Jack sighs.

"Ivor, I know you mean well, but your house wants to kill people." Jack yelled up to the dark haired man.

"I am not like other teenagers, Jack! I am 51!" Ivor exclaimed, and Liam released his weird high-pitched giggle. He felt Ivor and Jack glare down at him, and stopped, quickly apologizing.

"Can't we just move it somewhere else?" Jesse asks, as Axel and Olivia approach the lava to inspect it.

"Move it? That's going to make WAYYYY more lava spill!" Ivor replied, and Liam sighs.

"This guy's impossible." the blond shook his head.

"Well? We have to do something!" an older woman exclaimed, looking to Jesse for the help.

"Yeah, that's right, leave _all_ the choices to Jesse." Liam could feel Petra roll her eyes as she says that. A thump echoed, and footsteps were heard as Ivor approached Jesse.

"Jesse, please, please, don't make them tear my home down! I have just as much of a right to build as anyone else, don't I?" the dark haired man pleaded. Jesse took a few moments to make her decision.

"Leave it alone, people!" she announced, looking around at the rebellious citizens of the town.

"Oh thank you, Jesse!" Ivor gave the girl a wide grin, and Jesse held a hand up.

"But-"

"Oh, no buts, I hate buts!" Ivor groaned.

"We'll have to get some glass or something to contain that lava. It can't just be sprawled or we'll be seeing a mushroom cloud. We all know Magnus." Jesse gave him a deadpan look.

"Okay." Ivor nods. "Okay, I can work with that." He continued nodding, vigorously. He sighs in relief. "So, what can I do for you? Haven't seen you around in quite a while."

"Well, we found something at that temple you told us about." Jesse gave Ivor a grin, proud of herself and the rest of the New Order for the accomplishment.

"You did? Really?" Ivor questioned, then laughed. Obnoxiously loud. "Lunch is on me, I'll get the carrots!" he exclaimed, then leaned in close to Jesse. "There is no telling who's listening. Meet me in the Treasure Room. 10 minutes. And bring whatever it was you found!" he hissed, before running off to gods know where.

"Your face was splash zone, huh?" Jack chuckles, before going to clap the kiddo on the back.

"Yeah." Jesse sighs, shaking her head. Liam laughs at the brunette, shifting Petra on his back so she was comfier than she was. The quad of people walked up to Olivia and Axel, who stood from the lava.

"Well, if we're going to keep this building up, then we're going to need some glass to contain this lava." Olivia stood, looking to Axel. "You have any sand blocks?"

"Naw, fresh out." Axel shook his head in denial. Olivia sighs.

"We better go get some more then. Catch you all later!" Olivia and Axel began to walk off, but Jack and the wolf at his side jog to catch up.

"Lupin and I can come help." the blackette volunteered, as Lupin circled the group of three as they walked. Liam laughs at the dog, shaking his head.

"Go ahead, we'll see you later!" Petra waved, still on Liam's back. She laughs, leaning forward and kissing Liam's cheek.

"Come on, let's go, lovebirds. We better find Ivor behind he finds us." Jesse pointed out, heading to the Treasure Room, with Liam carrying Petra following.

 **And that is the first chapter of Episode 5! Finished with school by the time I finished this, by the way. Still got a crapload of softball and vacation and all that these coming weeks, along with the release of Episode 6 coming soon, too! I can't wait!**

 **I'll begin on the next one right away, try to finish at least half of it before bed tonight. This story MAY be going on a hiatus (as I may have said above) for vacation and softball, but it won't be long, I promise you that!**

 **If I take until July, kick my butt into writing. Please.**


	6. Episode 5: Chapter 5

**Still excruciatingly busy. May finish a majority of this chapter before vacation.**

 **Let's get started!**

As soon as Liam entered the Treasure Room, Petra decided to hop off of her boyfriend's back.

"Jeez, thanks for making me haul you over here." Liam teased, before hearing a familiar voice.

"Liam?"

"Lukas?" Liam turned to find his brother running up to him. The younger of the two threw his arms around his older counterpart, laughing a little.

"It's been a while." Lukas commented, after pulling away.

"It sure has, bud." Liam grins, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Holy crap, Lukas, I don't believe it!" Petra exclaims, a grin on her face as she and Jesse approach the blond.

"Hey guys." Lukas gave Petra and Jesse a grin. "You have some pretty cool stuff in here." he complimented, looking at Jesse, who blushed a little. She shook out of it, changing the subject.

"It's been ages, where were you?" Jesse asks, a raised eyebrow and a grin on her face. Lukas chuckles, bashfully rubbing the back of his head, his hair still all mussed up from Liam's ruffles.

"Oh, you know, just helping rebuild and stuff." Liam laughs at his brother's slight shyness. "The Storm/Storms left a pretty big mess out there."

"A lot of homes got wrecked." Petra nodded, agreeing with his plans.

"Yeah, nice of you to help out like that. But what happened to the Ocelots? You still with those guys?" Liam questioned, leaning on his brother's shoulder.

"That's, actually, one of the reasons I came." Lukas turned to his older brother. "They left, and I couldn't exactly hold rent on my own, so I had to sell the place. I was hoping you were still holding up the offer of me moving in with you and Jack."

"We'd love another roommate." Liam grins, clapping his brother on the back. "But I think Jesse would much rather-"

"Liam!" Petra scolded, backhanding his chest, making Liam laugh.

"What? I was just suggesting!" he protested, until Lukas rolls his eyes, finally changing the subject for both his and Jesse's sakes.

"You sure have been busy." Lukas whistled, looking around the Treasure Room. His eyes suddenly caught a certain something, and he turned to face it. "Oh, wow. You hung it." Liam stomped on Lukas's foot, making him yelp. "Er, him." he corrected himself, holding his foot.

"Yeah…" Jesse hesitantly replied, stepping towards the frame that held the single slice of porkchop. It was most of all of what was left of Reuben. The other was the memories held of him.

"How are you doing?"

"I really miss him." Jesse sighs, looking down and turning back around so her body was facing the trio behind her. She crossed her arms in an attempt to hug herself. "Every morning, I wake up and, just for a minute, I can pretend that he's in another room, or rooting somewhere outside, looking for carrots." She shook her head, looking back up at Lukas, who gave her a sympathetic look. "And then, every morning, I get to remember that he's gone."

"I'm so sorry." Lukas shook his head at her, and Liam took the time to change the subject.

"You said you weren't only here for the ask-to-move-in thing. What else did you need?" Liam asks his younger brother, looking down at him. Lukas nods and sighs.

"I actually stopped by to tell you guys something. Really important, actually." Lukas stepped towards Jesse, now the center of attention. "I came to tell you about this weird run-in I had… with Aiden."

"Aiden? The guy who defines stupidity, idiotic, moronic, and everything in between?" Liam questions, making Jesse chuckle a bit. "That Aiden?"

"Yes, that Aiden." Lukas laughs a little as well as Petra just smiles at her goofy boyfriend. "Whatever you said or did, it really got to him." Lukas faces Jesse, raising an eyebrow. Jesse sighs, rolling her eyes.

"He's such a jerk." Jesse seemed to glare in the distance. "I mean, he never stops!"

"He's been so jealous of you and the rest of the New Order ever since you saved the world from the Wither Storm. Convinced that HE was the one to do that."

"I don't think that was really possible, seeing as he was IN the Storm the majority of the time period." Liam pointed out, but Lukas continued.

"And ever since he took over the Oce- 'The Blaze Rods,' he's been pushing Maya and Gil around." Lukas sighs, and Jesse pushed past the blond.

"Yeah, he's freaking me out." she began, going up the stairs. "Making these crazy threats, knocking his teammates- or rather, jockeys- around." Lukas only sighs, turning to watch after her.

"So, what was it you got that got Aiden so excited anyway?" he questioned, turning to the brunette and facing her as she was on the top of the stairs. Jesse grinned, and pulled out a flint and steel. Liam was confused for a minute, climbing the stairs to get a closer look. Lukas and Petra followed.

"So it's just some flint and steel? I don't get it." Liam asks, looking to Petra for help. Petra just laughs, probably at the cute confused look he had.

"It's not _just_ any normal flint and steel, Liam. It's enchanted, in some way." she pointed out.

"She's right, brother. It's glowing. It could be an enchantment, but-" Liam cut his brother off.

"There hasn't been one in years." Liam finished, looking to Jesse.

"Anyways, I'm supposed to show this to-" Jesse began, but someone suddenly sprung up from behind Liam.

"You found it!" Ivor exclaimed excitedly, earning himself a punch to the jaw. Liam swore, rubbing his knuckles.

"Jeez, Ivor, don't do that!" Petra scolded the Potion Master, as Liam helped Ivor back on his feet.

"Dude, what is _wrong_ with you?" Jesse added, and Lukas looks as if he may have peed his pants.

"I'm sorry about that; it was all-" Liam began to apologize.

"Reflexes, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, thank you very much!" Ivor jumped right back on his feet, dusting himself off. "Now this-" he pointed both pointer fingers at the flint and steel. "-is the greatest find of our time! I can't believe you're actually holding-"

"Okay, spill it. What does it do?" Jesse looked to the older man, still holding the flint and steel in her hands.

"It proves what I've always suspected!" Ivor began, the wide grin still plastered on his face like a car vinyl. "That glow, that enchantment is the work of a very old group of builders, a group _so old_ that they existed before even the Order of the Stone was around!"

"Woah."

"Yeah, dramatic."

"Wow, I didn't know there was a time before the Order of the Stone!" Jesse looked to the others in pure excitement.

"It's incredible, isn't it? I haven't even gotten to the best part!" Ivor exclaimed, clearly even more excited than any of them. "You see, if these builders truly existed, and if you found their temple… then that means we're one step closer to finding _the Eversource_." Ivor pumped a hand in the air, while Lukas and Liam felt a little out of place, glancing at each other. Petra and Jesse were both clearly intrigued.

"Looks like you came back just in time, Lukas." Jesse nudged Lukas pretty hard, making him hold his stomach.

"Same with you, Liam. You both like this kind of stuff, don't you?" Petra did the same to her boyfriend, a smile on her face.

"More 'powerful artifacts,' huh?" Lukas managed, glancing at Jesse.

"Wow… So this 'Eversource' thing must be pretty valuable." Jesse looked at Ivor.

"Valuable is not even half of it, Jesse." Ivor chuckles, now gaining Liam's interest.

"Okay, I'm interested…" he spoke, resting his elbow on Lukas's shoulder and propping himself up from there.

"The Eversource is said to be an object of incredible power possessed by the old builders. It was a sort of treasure or artifact that gave them an endless supply of precious materials. Just think about it Jesse!" Ivor laughs, looking to the leader of the New Order. As usual, she was the one making the choices.

"Old builders. You learn something new every day." Petra commented, and Liam saw a poster of the Old Order.

"You think Soren could be one of them?" Liam questioned, looking at Ivor, who only shrugged.

"Maybe. He was always big on keeping secrets. You should know what I mean." Ivor gave Liam a deadpan look, and Liam understood, nodding his head.

"Alright, wait, let me get this straight." Jesse stepped towards Ivor, having put the flint and steel in her pockets. "Okay, so the flint and steel may have Soren's enchantment on it, but how do you know that's where we'll find the Eversource?" Ivor only sighs.

"I've traveled near and far, Jesse. Out of everything else there is in the world, that temple and that flint and steel is the only firm proof I have seen of the old builders."

"It does seem like a pretty good bet." Petra looked at Jesse, and Lukas agreed with her. Liam was still a bit cautious. "Old builders, Eversource, ancient mysteries… you know I'm all in."

"Excellent! I'll pack my adventuring things immediately!" Ivor jumped giddily once again, before running off.

"Wait, _he's_ coming?" Petra pointed after Ivor, glaring at Jesse.

"Ah, sounds like you guys better get to it, soooooooo Lukas and I will take off." Liam grabbed his brother's arm, beginning to drag him off, but Petra stopped her boyfriend and his brother.

"Nope. You're coming with us."

"Uh, you sure?" Liam questioned, "We don't want to intrude or be a burden-"

"Are you kidding me, Liam? I need someone to calm me down with the whole Ivor thing."

"What about me?" Lukas questioned, looking between the couple and Jesse.

"You too. Come on!" Jesse grabbed his hand and broke him from Liam's grasp, leading the way in a sprint to the doors. The couple followed, and, well, let's just say a new adventure is close to beginning.

 **And that's it for almost a week! Going on vacation, so, til then, my worldies! (I'll continue and try to update during, but that's mostly impossible of happening.)**


	7. Episode 5: Chapter 6

It was a pretty decent day in their area of Minecraftia. Liam walked with Petra, Lukas, and Jesse as the ladies led the way to the temple. The older brother held Petra's hand as they walked. Meanwhile, Ivor was practically skipping ahead of them. He was _wayyy_ too excited. Liam sneezed.

"Where are the ocelots?" Lukas questioned, looking around him. A day like this and in a vegetated environment like this, it would be positive that Liam's allergy of ocelots would pop up.

"This is so exciting!" Ivor climbed to the top of a hill, then jumped off, exclaiming "Adventure!" A rustle of the bushes nearby make Lukas look, and he spotted an ocelot's tail.

"Thanks for scaring off those ocelots." Lukas laughs at Ivor's antics. Ivor reappeared on the side of the hill, popping them a thumbs up before disappearing. As soon as the quad turned around the hill, they spotted Ivor running ahead a little.

"Hey, Lukas, I know it's daytime, but help Liam watch our backs, alright?"

"I got this." Liam reassured, he already had his sword out. Petra sighs.

"Liam, Aiden is a lot tougher than ever." she pointed out.

"And I know that he will do whatever it takes to get the item that Jesse has. I'm helping." Lukas deadpanned, falling back in pace with his brother. Liam gave in, allowing the help.

"I can't believe we're bringing Ivor with us." Petra grumbled to Jesse. Her voice was low, low enough to keep out of Ivor's earshot but not low enough to keep out of the brothers'. "I mean, it's nice that he's so excited-"

"But he has a thing for ancient mysteries and history and treasure. We'll need his knowledge, Peets." Jesse replied.

"Hey, that's my nickname for her!"

"These trees are enormous! I love it so much!" Ivor exclaimed in front of them with a grin plastered on his face.

"He just… really gets on my nerves sometimes." Petra looked at Jesse, but Liam squeezed her shoulder.

"I gotcha." he nods encouragingly, rubbing her shoulder a bit.

"Thanks, cutie." Lukas laughs at the nickname she had given his brother, but stopped when his brother glared at him. The group of five arrived at the temple, and if he couldn't get any more exciteder…

"Remarkable! Look at the architecture! So _old,_ so _exquisite!_ " Ivor laughs, looking at the building.

"Wow. That is one huge temple." Liam muttered, looking up at the temple while shielding the sun from his eyes with a hand.

"This is everything I dreamed of!" Ivor stopped at the bottom of the steps, and so did the others behind him. "Except less cake. My dreams usually involve cake." Ivor added, making Liam laugh.

"So you think this is the right place then?" Jesse questioned the whiz, looking over at him with a gentle smile while Lukas and Liam still stared up the building in awe.

"Think? Jesse, I _know_ this is the place." Ivor smirks, looking back at the brunette, redhead, and blonds.

The group walks into the temple, and Jesse looked around.

"Wow, it looks so different during the day." Jesse noted, and Ivor, still excited as ever, added,

"Be careful! There could be booby traps everywhere!" Liam snickered, while Petra rolled her eyes.

"Childish as ever, Liam." she muttered, her arms crossed. They split up. Jesse did the investigating, while Lukas examined what seemed to be a lava tube, and Ivor just went to jump happily in the corner.

"I'm still tired." Liam heard Petra mumble to him. He had a feeling she was fibbing just to sit down. The blond couldn't blame her; she did have a long night.

"C'mon." Liam nodded to a rock protruding from the ground. It seemed jagged, but rather blunt. Kind of like a chair. He took her hand and he sat down, allowing her to sit on his lap and rest up while she could. He kept his sword handy, though. "So, tell me all about what happened here." And just like that, Petra told him the full story, which sure as heck sounded awesome.

The couple was snapped out of it when they saw Jesse approach a hole in the ceiling with vines dropping down.

"That looks promising." Jesse spoke, a grin on her face as Liam and Petra approached, along with Lukas and Ivor. "I'm heading up." she announced, stepping towards the vines and grasping them in her hands before making her way up.

"So you think that this Eversource thing is here?"

"I don't just _think_ , I _hope._ " Ivor internally glared at Liam, who put his hands up.

"Alright, alright, just asking." he finished, as Lukas and Petra had gone up. Liam let Ivor up after his brother and girlfriend before himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something run across the doorway. "Must have been a cow…" he told himself, shrugged, and headed up. When he got up there, there were still some holes in the roof. _Probably_ _from explosions._ He thought, chuckling as he looked out to the view. He turns to see Jesse pulling out the special flint and steel she had taken from this very temple.

"Here goes nothing…" she spoke, then turned towards the portal. She ignited it, and the portal lit a bright shade of blue. Yet, the portal released a shockwave, throwing the group back. It also made Jesse drop the flint and steel. They rolled towards feet..

Aiden's feet.

He bent down and picked them up, a smirk on his face.

"Thanks for bringing this back to me, Jesse." he sneered. Maya and Gil appeared behind him. "I knew you were good for something." By this point, the group had stood and were ready to take on a fight if needed. The Blaze Rods had two wolves. "You're pretty easy to follow, you know that, right?"

"You'll regret that, Aiden." Jesse glared, the first to stand. Liam followed, Petra, Ivor, and Lukas trailing.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh YEAH?"

"Shut up, Gil!" Aiden took a second to glare at his own teammate, before turning back to his foes. "Step aside, Jesse. We're heading through that portal now." Aiden glared at Jesse. Boy, does this guy just glare a lot?

"Oh, no way!" Petra protested, standing her ground.

"You're done, Aiden. This is where it ends." Lukas held his hands out, as if saying 'right here, right now.' Jesse grins, mostly at Lukas. Liam stepped forward.

"If you want to go through the portal, you'll have to go through us." Liam declared, getting his sword out.

"Fine. Blaze Rods? Clear me a path." Aiden commanded his team, pocketing the flint and steel.

"Some leader you are." Liam glared, as Gil attacked Jesse, Lukas on Aiden, and Petra on Maya. The remaining Blaze Rods, the two wolves, had taken on both Ivor and Liam. Grunts and the clanging of swords and the barking of the wolves echoed in the small tower-like room. Liam took his eyes off of the wolf he was battling to check on the others, but he lingered a second too long and the wolf took the opportunity to bite down on his arm hard and bring him to the ground. Liam let go of his sword, using his free hand to try to pry the wolf off of him. He let out a cry as the wolf scratched it's claws on his front, shaking it's head vigorously while it's teeth were clamped on Liam's arm.

"Ivor, help him!" Lukas shouted at the Potion Master. One blow from Ivor's sword was all it took to make the wolf get off of him and drop on it's side. The wolf disappeared in a puff of smoke, but as soon as Liam regained his surroundings, the Blaze Rods were already heading through the portal. Aiden was already through, Maya was heading through, and Gil had not yet gone through.

"Come on, bud!" Jesse helped Liam up, and, while his opponent was distracted, Gil ran towards the portal. On his way, he brought his sword down on Liam's knee. Liam cried out in pain once again. First, his arm. Then, his chest and stomach. Now, his knee. His knee gave away, but Jesse still held him up. "Liam, come on!"

"You'll have to leave me here!"

"No! You'll die here-"

"I'm probably gonna die either way-"

"Jesse, come on! I have bandages and the potions to heal him, just bring him through!" Just like that, Liam put all his strength on his opposite leg and hopped to the portal, getting through with Ivor in front and the other two behind them.

 **Whoo! I am in full gear right now! I may get another chapter done tonight, but I can't keep that promise. It's a major possibility.**

 **I also can't promise finishing Episode 5 before Episode 6 is released. It's all my fault for slacking off for a few months and that type of stuff. I'll lay off of my other stories and try to get this one done.**

 **Anyways, I'll see you all later! Feedback and positive reviews are always appreciated, and don't forget about my Twitter GirlOfMyWorld11 for up-to-date statuses on my stories. You'll be seeing TBTW there!**

 **Til then, my fellow readers!**


	8. Episode 5: Chapter 7

"Woahwoahwoahwoaahhh!" Ivor yelled out as soon as Liam and Jesse landed on the other side. They were met with Ivor about to fall over the edge of a small island, the small island they stood on.

"Sorry, Liam!" Jesse quickly apologized, before dropping him to the ground and going to help Ivor. "Don't worry, I got you!" Jesse exclaimed, grabbing his hand in the nick of time. Liam landed on his bad arm, making him groan in pain. He rolled onto his back, and the pain subsided as he saw Petra and Lukas land on the island.

"Liam!" Petra exclaimed, rushing to his side. Lukas followed her quickly behind, as Jesse got Ivor back on his feet.

"Jeez, you are surprisingly heavy!" Jesse exclaimed at the Potion Master, while they both panted heavily.

"I am the proportionate weight for my height, thank you very much!" Ivor glared at his friend, his hands on his knees.

"Ivor, you said you had healing potions and bandages, right?" Lukas questioned, as he helped Liam sit up to get the armor off. Underneath, he wore the usual orange shirt and grey suspenders. But the orange shirt was more of a red shade on his front and arms.

"Yes, yes I did." Ivor nodded, making his way to Liam. Liam's head rested on Petra's lap.

"What about Aiden, though?" Lukas asked Jesse, looking up at her while Ivor unclipped the suspenders and lifted the shirt from the bottom.

"Your brother matters right now, Lukas. We'll catch up to Aiden." Jesse reassured, and Ivor turned back to Lukas and Jesse.

"I'm going to need all of your help with this one." he spoke, and the two kneeled down next to their friend. "This is going to hurt like hell for him, so I need you-" Ivor pointed at Jesse, "-to hold an arm down. Lukas, you take the other. Be careful of the wound, though. And Petra, you got his shoulders, right?"

"I do." Petra nodded, holding his shoulders down as Jesse took his bad arm, Lukas grabbing the good. Ivor was straddling Liam, to keep his bottom half down on the ground. Liam was breathing heavily, and let out a yell as the antidote reached his wounds and burned them badly. He writhed like mad, but the four held him down. He clenched his fists, squeezing his eyes shut and looking away until the hard part was over.

"Get him on his knees!" Ivor ordered, getting off of Liam and helping him up onto his knees. Lukas and Jesse held his arms to keep him upright. Petra held his shirt up. She was trying not to think of it. While Liam groaned in pain and tried to get the pressure off of his bad knee, Ivor managed to wrap a roll of bandages around his body. There was a splatter of a mixture of squid ink and slime to help it stay on. Petra let his shirt down.

"We'll have to find iron for a needle and thread."

"I have thread." Liam handed it to Ivor, and Petra volunteered her iron that she had found the previous night in the temple they had just arrived from.

"Good, does anyone have a crafting table?" Ivor looked around the group. Jesse volunteered hers, pulling it out and placing it down.

"Petra, make the needle. It's just the iron on the middle top slot. When she's done, thread the needle, Lukas." Ivor went to cleaning the blood from the wound, not yet pouring the antidote until he was ready to stitch it up. Petra took no time and made the needle, then tossed it to Lukas, who threaded it and handed it to Ivor. Ivor did the dirty work, stitching back and forth until he reached the end. The experienced medic bent down and cut the thread with his teeth, before ripping a bandage in half and using it on Liam's arm.

"Should we stand him up?" Lukas questioned, pulling Liam's sleeve back down and quickly getting the armor back on.

"Yes, yes, please do!" Ivor nodded, and the trio help Liam to his feet quickly, as Ivor got the antidote on his wound from Gil's slash. Liam was growing used to the burning, but not the pain. He felt the remaining bandage being wrapped around his knee.

"Okay, he's good, right?" Petra gave Ivor a questioning look. Hey, he was the boss in this situation.

"Yes, you may let him take a seat." Ivor nodded, wiping his bloody hands with a remaining bandage. "Give him this, it will help keep the infection at bay." Ivor handed Lukas a healing potion. "It won't help the wounds heal faster, though." Petra couldn't believe she was saying this.

"Thank you, Ivor. Thank you so, so much." She looked up to the man with great gratitude in her eyes.

"He's not only your boyfriend, he's my friend, Petra. Of course I had to help." Ivor gave her a concerned look. "Now, let's get started with tracking down Aiden." His gaze went to Jesse. She must had a plan.

"Well, first, there's that city that none of us noticed until now. So there's a huge chance the Blaze Rods could be in there." Jesse pointed behind them, and they turn to look. It was magnificent to see.

"Looks like they rely on eggs." Liam spoke at last, noticing the egg-shaped balls on top of towers and other structures. Petra rubbed his back comfortingly as he continued to drink the potion.

"How will we get there?" Lukas questioned, taking the bottle from his brother when he was done with it. He handed it back to Ivor as Jesse looked over the edge.

"Elementary, my dear Lukas." she spoke at last, turning back to the rest of them. "This island is bigger than it looks. If we could dig it to all that we can stand on, then it may be just enough to get there." She pointed to the entrance to the floating city of eggs. Liam attempted to stand to help, but Petra held him down by the shoulders.

"You are sitting here."

"But, Petra-"

"No butts, Liam, they are for your backside." His girlfriend gave him a look. "Which you are sitting on until we finish the work." Liam just sighs. It would be no use to argue. Plus, they had wasted ten precious minutes they could have used to catch Aiden on the spot. _If only I wasn't so reckless…_

"Do you think Aiden knew all about this? The portal, the Eversource…." Jesse questioned as she worked.

"Well, whether he was eavesdropping or found out on his own now... " Ivor shook his head.

"We'll have to get to it before he does." Liam finished for him. "He could be using it for all the wrong purposes, you know." The rest of the digging remained silent.

"Stop pushing!" Ivor exclaimed at Petra.

"I'm not pushing, Lukas is!"

"I'm trying to stay away from the edge!"

"It's all edge!" Liam exclaimed, huddled in the center of them all.

"Okay, that should do it." Jesse nods, standing from her kneeling position. "Let's build ourselves a bridge." Liam limped along behind them as the built their bridge.

Ivor eventually went off and built a little addition to the bridge as Liam continued limping along. Yet, the Potions Master managed to finish and catch up just as Jesse placed the last block.

"Okay, this is our stop." Jesse spoke, getting onto the platform that led to the gates of this floating city. The others followed her as she droned, "Eeevvveerybody off." Petra got on and turned to make sure Liam was good. But something else caught her eye at that moment.

"Ivor, seriously?" she questioned, noticing the skull with lava pouring out of the eyeholes.

"That represents my lava house. LONG LIVE LAVA!" Ivor laughs, then he was quickly interrupted by a young voice, like a teenager's.

"You're building?" Liam was the first to turn around. His eyes fell on a little boy, probably about 15. The boy began to back away in fear.

"Hey, kid, no need to be afraid… We're good people." Liam began to limp his way towards him.

"That's what the last people who came in here said! They said they were good people, but then they drew their sword when I told them I wouldn't let them in until the Founder gave me permission."

"And these last people you approached, do you know where they went?" Lukas questioned, getting a little too close and making the boy back away more. Jesse placed her hand on Lukas's arm, gripping it and preventing him from going any further.

"I-I think they asked about the i-inn, but that's all I know, I swear!"

"And this thing about building?" Ivor questioned, recalling when the kiddo was shocked at their building-a-bridge.

"It's illegal. Against the law."

"I'll bite. Why is building against the law?" Jesse questioned, walking up to get better hearing. She still gripped Lukas's arm.

"I'm getting real nervous…. I'm sorry, but I must go. I mustn't be caught with lawbreakers." The 15 year old sighs, and turns, speeding off.

"No, wait!" Liam exclaimed, trying to grab the kid before he left but he had no such luck, as he made contact with the ground. He groaned, before he felt arms wrap around his shoulders.

"Hey, you alright?" Petra raised an eyebrow, clearly concerned for her man.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Let's just find the Blaze Rods and stop them before I really give out." Liam nods, using her as support. Just like that, she was propping him up.

"We'll have to find you help." Lukas pointed out. "Jesse?"

"Go ahead and search for a place. I'll take a look around." Jesse nods. "As soon as you've taken care of Liam, give me a hand. It's going to take more than four eyes and two swords to take the Blaze Rods."

 **Apologies that this chapter is pretty short! It's more of a filler for before they meet Isa, AKA the Founder. I have a little show in store for a Sky City resident and Liam. You'll see… in the next chapter. Ha ha!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	9. Episode 5: Chapter 8

Liam limped around with his arms over both Lukas's and Petra's shoulders.

"Lukas, go help Jesse. I got this." Petra tells her boyfriend's brother.

"You sure?"

"Positive." The redhead nods, and Lukas glanced over at Jesse.

"Alright." The blond gave her a curt nod, releasing Liam's arm.

"I'll see you later, little bro." Liam ruffled Lukas's hair, making it more mussled than it already was. Lukas just laughs, before walking off to join Jesse and Ivor in their search for the Blaze Rods.

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Liam looked down at Petra, who had spoken.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, almost a year ago, we fought the Wither Storm. Almost a year ago, we had gotten together."

"Really? It's almost May 28th?" Liam questioned, looking down at her. "Time sure dows fly…." he agreed.

"I'm glad it was with you, honestly. If I hadn't been there to assist you and Jesse in that clearing… we would probably have _never_ met."

"I agree. I mean, Lukas would probably introduce us to each other in another way." Liam rubbed her arm as he spoke. "But I am glad we met in that clearing, because that was the moment I knew you were the one for me."

"Let's turn it down a notch, I'm not used to all this feely stuff." Petra laughs a little.

"I know you aren't." Liam chuckles, kissing her temple. He looks around, and a blaze of red catches his eye.

Standing just a little down the road, there was a child, hiding behind a tree and peeking out at the two. Liam gave a small wave and a small smile. The child, a boy that couldn't be any older than 11 with blazing red hair even brighter than Petra's and startling green eyes, jumped a bit and hid behind the tree completely. Liam raised an eyebrow in questioned.

"Who was that?"

"I don't know." Liam shook his head in reply to Petra's question. "I may just find out." The wind blew a powerful gust and a wooden sword tumbled from behind the tree where the boy was, right towards Liam who raised his arm and caught it by the handle. The boy peeked out from behind the tree, and Liam approached him slowly with Petra's help.

"That's my sword." the boy spoke at last, eyes only on the sword in Liam's hand.

"What's your name?" Liam bent down on one knee to meet the boy's height, wincing a bit when he bent his bad knee.

"What's yours?"

"I'm Liam, and this is my girlfriend, Petra." Liam motioned up to the girl behind him, introducing them both as he spoke.

"Oh. I'm Nathanael."

"Nathanael, huh? That sounds like an amazing name."

"Thank you." the boy muttered shyly, before pointing to his sword. "Can I please have my sword back?"

"Of course, kiddo." Liam smiles, handing the sword back to Nathanael, who gladly took it. "Where are your parents?"

"Daddy's gone. He died of an illness. It's just me and Mama."

"I'm sorry, kid."

"No need to." Nathanael shook his head. He then noticed how Liam was having a hard time keeping himself balanced and how he was clutching an arm to his chest. "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah. I was attacked by a wolf while fighting some bad people."

"Really?" Nathanael exclaimed, looking up at Liam and meeting his eyes at last.

"Yep." Liam chuckles, nodding.

"Mama can help you. She's a nurse." Nathanael grabbed Liam's opposite hand, pulling him on his feet. "Come on!" Liam looked at Petra.

"Go ahead; I'm going to go help Jesse." Petra nodded with a small smile. She liked how well Liam got along with younger children. (Typical as he's going to father her children in the future. ;) )

"Thank you, Nathanael." Liam smiles down at Nathanael.

"Call me Nathan or Nath." Nathanael gave Liam a toothy grin as he led his new friend up the porch steps and into the house.

"Nath, who is this and why is he in here?" A strict-sounding woman's voice echoed. Liam turned his head to the sound and found who seemed to be Nath's mother.

"I'm Liam, madam." Liam introduced himself.

"Mama, he's hurt. You have to help him like he helped me." Nath protected Liam, and the mother nods.

"Get him on the couch, Nathan. I'll grab my supplies." the woman looked at him rather coldly as she went into another room.

"I just need you to look at the wounds, make sure they aren't infected." Liam released Nath's hand to get the armor off. She came back, carrying a chest.

"What happened?"

"He was in a fight, Mama! Attacked by a wolf while sword-fighting a bad guy!" Nath exclaimed, taking out his wooden sword and pretending to fight enemies as he swing his sword through the air.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Liam nods. He finally got his chest armor off to reveal the strips in his shirt and the tear on his arm. She looked over them, removing the bandages to examine them.

"Well, you seem to be doing well. Any dizziness or exhaustion? Headaches?"

"Nothing." Liam shook his head.

"Then you'll be fine. Here, drink these." The woman gave Liam a few potions. "I'm Lily, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Liam nods, before downing a potion. He decided to wait a few minutes for the potion to take effect.

"And, you've already met Nath. He's always welcoming people in here when they're hurt."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"Yes, it sort of is. I'm the only nurse in town now. All the other businesses have just given up because I'm taking all their customers." Lily sighs, shaking her head as Nath entered the room.

"Can you tell me about the fight now?" Nath asks Liam, jumping on the couch next to him.

"I'm sorry, Nath, but I don't have the time. Maybe I'll come back when I'm finished with what I'm supposed to be doing." Liam shook his head, before downing another potion.

"Oh… okay…" Nath nods, suddenly down. Liam felt guilty for doing this.

"Sorry." he apologized once again before standing. His knee didn't hurt one bit.

"Oh, one of the potions were an elixir. It was supposed to heal your knee completely so you could at least walk around. It also gave your arm and front a head start in the healing process." Lily explained.

"Wow, really?"

"Yep." Lily nods, chuckling. Liam noticed this was the first time he had seen her smile.

"I'll be back when I'm done doing what I have to do." Liam gave them all kind smiles. "And I'll return the favor somehow. Thank you." he nods at Lily.

"You're welcome, Liam. Oh, and, before you go, I'm just going to say… Those cuts and gashes you received… They're going to leave some scars."

"I'm alright with a couple more scars." Liam nods, remembering when his father used to beat him sometimes and he would be a klutz in a cave while mining.

"Bye!" Nath grins, waving as Liam exited the house through the door. He took a little jog around town, trying to find his friends.

He finally found them, and waved as he approached.

"Hey guys!" he called in greeting, approaching his friends by the inn.

"Liam? You're walking? I thought your knee-" Ivor began in surprise, but Liam stopped him short.

"Petra and I found a nurse, she had an elixir that healed the knee completely so I could walk." Liam chuckles at his dumbfounded expression. "Anyways, get me up to date. What'd I miss?"

"Well, according to Milo, he beat us to the palace. There's no doubt he'll turn us in and make us look bad." Lukas sighs, shaking his head with a hand on his waist. As if on cue…

"Attention, attention!" rang out an old-sounding voice. It was the leader of the soldiers positioned mostly everywhere in the Sky City. "Please take a moment of your time and meet in the Founder's Garden for an emergency meeting! Attendance is mandatory!"

"There we go." Lukas nodded, motioning to the leader.

"Oh, slime blocks." Milo swore, shaking his head as he pushed past them.

"Curious. I wonder what that's all about." Ivor was the first to begin walking to what they presumed was the Founder's Garden.

 **Apologies again if this seems like a short chapter! I had to do it to introduce a new OC, and, you guessed it, Nathanael! I was actually inspired by a Ninjago fanfiction on this website, "Given To Lightning" I believe it was called, to do that. I hope you're enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	10. Episode 5: Chapter 9

On the other side of the crowd, Liam noticed Nath, being held in his mother's arms. The child and the blond made eye contact, and Liam waved with a smile. Nath waved back, a toothy grin plastered on his face.

"Oh! It's the Founder!" People began to whisper around Liam. Liam turned his attention back to where everyone else was looking and spotted the black haired woman in golden robes. Yep, she sure was the leader of them all. Jesse stayed quiet, hoping that Aiden and the Blaze Rods wouldn't show up. Much to her dismay, they did, coming up right behind the Founder. Liam's eyes widened, internally gagging when Aiden and the Founder gave each other a look.

"I'm so nervous, being surrounded by so many people like this." Ivor muttered, getting a little jittery. Liam couldn't blame him. He, himself, was quite nervous when trying for the Ocelots for the first time. Except the Ocelots were all over. There were no more tryouts or anything. Lukas and the Ocelots were the end of the line.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Jesse muttered, shaking her head. Apparently, the others haven't quite been paying attention as they should have.

"What do you mean- oh." Just one look at who was up there with the Founder was all it took for Petra to realize what was up. Lukas grabbed Liam's good arm, ready to turn him around and run when needed. Liam did the same with Petra, who passed the motion along to Jesse. The group was ready to run if needed.

"People of Sky City! I'm sorry to pull you from your duties, but an urgent matter has come to my attention!" The Founder's voice, much stronger and more clearer than the head soldier's, echoed throughout the crowd. "A crime has been committed!"

"A crime?" "What kind of crime?" whispers ran all across the crowd, and Liam made eye contact with Lily, whose eyes were wide.

'Are you…?' she mouthed, to which Liam admitted to with a nod. He wouldn't lie. She just glares at him and held her son closer to her, unable to believe the fact that she had _helped_ _a criminal._ A _freaking_ criminal!

"Please, remain calm!" The Founder interrupted their little stare-off, continuing her little speech. The older blond brother turned his attention back to the Founder. "Earlier today, outsiders built a bridge into our fair city from a distant land!" Liam turned his head to look behind him, just as large golden doors slid open to reveal the lava skull Ivor had made, along with the dirt bridge from what had remained of the island he almost died on. "Now," the Founder continued, "whether these outsiders knew it or not, this is a violation of Sky City's most sacred law- no unauthorized building."

"Wait?" a new voice questioned in a whisper. It was Milo, peeking ahead of the little line to look at them. "Was that you? Are you the bridge builders?" Liam was close to being the honest guy he (usually) was and about to say something, but Jesse beat him to it.

"What? No, why would you even ask?" Jesse feinted surprise for him asking such a question. Liam decided to play along, like Ivor, Lukas, and Petra were. Liam paid attention to Aiden and the Founder. Aiden met eyes with Liam and gave a snarky smile before leaning in to whisper something to the Founder.

"We better go." Liam muttered, his voice too low.

"What?" Petra and Ivor asked in unison, before Petra gave the much-older man a glare.

"We better get out of here before-"

"Jesse, wherever you are, step forward now!" the Founder announced once again. Liam swore, knowing it was far too late. "I have been informed of your identity, and I appreciate the fact that you may be ignorant to our laws. I warn you; Sky City is smaller than it looks and I will find you." All throughout that statement, Aiden's keen glare was kept on the five. As if on cue, the guards began to search through the crowds, obviously looking for the five who were now wanted criminals.

"We need to get to that Eversource at whatever cost!" Ivor hissed, making the attempt to take the lead. "This is clearly the fastest way into the castle!" He continued, pointing to the approaching guards behind his back.

"By getting arrested?!" Petra hissed back, her hand now instinctively grabbing on to Liam's. Liam gave her an encouraging squeeze.

"Wait!" Milo interrupted once again. "Don't be fooled by the Founder's lies." he warned, "I can help you come up with a plan to get into the castle." Ivor had no patience whatsoever and turned right on his heel, jumping and waving.

"Hello! Here I am! I made the bridge!"

"Are you crazy? Does she look like she's going to help us?!" Petra exclaimed, their cover officially blown. A soldier grabbed Ivor firmly by the arm.

"Unhand me! This is completely and utterly unnecessary!" Ivor exclaimed at the guard, attempting to pull away.

"Sorry, Ivor, but I think that's a bad plan. I'm going with Milo!" Jesse announced, then turned towards the third blond, Lukas and Liam following. Lukas never made the escape, as he was tackled by another guard.

"You all, hide. I'll lead them away." Liam looked up to Petra, Jesse, and Milo in front of him.

"Liam, no, you'll be caught!" Petra protested.

"This is the only way! I'll meet back up with you soon!" Liam promised, grasping Petra's hand for a moment before releasing to let them hid around a corner. Liam held his bad hand close to his chest, pushing himself to run the farthest he had probably gone while injured. He hoped he managed to lead them away, but he hoped too late, as a soldier had come out of nowhere and tackled him. His back had a great impact with the wall and an elbow to the temple was all it took for Liam to black out, succumbing to the pain.

"Liam? Liam, wake up!" _Ugh.. my head hurts now..._

"Oh, shush, Lukas! He's not dead." _Is that Ivor?_ Liam soon regained consciousness of his body. His arm and front throbbed, and a hand was holding his. He recognized the strong hand as his younger brother's. Lukas sighed, and Liam could tell that he was looking down at his brother.

"But what if he is-" he began, but a voice stopped him.

"What the hell are you going on about?" A guard's voice boomed it's way into a conversation. "Why is he not up yet? I've told you to awaken him-"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there!" Lukas held a hand up, as Ivor stepped in.

"He's injured! And thanks to one of _your_ comrades, he may have a concussion from being slammed into a wall!" The guard went silent at this point.

"Five more minutes, and that is it!" the guard spat, and boots thumped on the ground, fading away. Liam took the time to open his eyes, and there was Lukas's eyes to meet. Liam got startled and shot up in his seat, only to bonk heads with his brother and lie back down. On impact, Lukas fell back, holding his own forehead.

"What was that?!" Ivor looked at the two of them, who both only groan in reply. The dark haired Potions Master was basically just giving them a look. "Idiots." he muttered, shaking his head as he walked back to the iron bars. "The guard should be back soon."

"Ugh… what happened?" Liam questioned, holding his head as Lukas got up. The younger of the two held out his hand, and Liam took it, helping himself up with the help of his brother.

"Well, you were caught. Guard brought you here unconscious and we've been in here for a few hours now. Man, I got so worried…" Lukas shook his head, looking at the ground.

"I'm alright, Lukas. It's just a headache and some throbbing now." Liam waved it off, joining Ivor at the bars. Lukas followed closely behind.

A few moments later, the guard came back.

"Good to see you're awake. Now, let's go. You're permanent cell is ready."

"Wait, what? _Permanent?_ " Liam questioned, hoping her had heard wrong.

"Yes." Nope. Luckily, though, Liam was on to something. He had heard of the story of one of his father's friends breaking out of jail once. He just had to recall it, and recall it well because if it doesn't go smoothly, he could be lying on the floor with a sword through his stomach and not on a cold dungeon floor. The guard opened the gate, leading them out.

"We have to get out of here!" Ivor hissed, looking back at Liam and Lukas.

"Well, I don't suppose you have a plan?" Lukas raised an eyebrow at the Old Order member.

"No." Ivor deadpanned.

"I do." Liam jumped in.

"What is it?"

"Just trust me and stay behind me. Ivor, do you happen to have a potion of silencing?" Liam glanced at the two, who both nodded. Lukas slowed down his pace, while Ivor reached into his pockets and pulled out what Liam needed. He was confused, as to why the guards only confiscated their weapons and not anything else. Oh well. They weren't going to be here for any longer, anyways.

Just as the guard was pulling his keys from his pockets, Liam caught him in a chokehold and, as the guard began to call for help, he forced the drink down his throat.

"What did you-" The words were cut off by a small squeal, proving the potion worked. Liam grabbed the keys and shoved guard into which was originally their cell. He landed a good punch to the temple with his good arm, knocking out the guard.

"Hurry, help me!" Liam hissed, grabbing the guard's sword and scavenging him of anything useful. He found lead, and used it to 'handcuff' the guard's wrists. Ivor and Lukas sprung into action, working together to lift the guard and place him on the bed in the cell. They covered him with the blanket. Luckily, he had blond hair like Liam and Lukas, so it would like like one of the brothers were in the bed and not a guard that was taken down so easily.

"Come on, we better go." Lukas whispered, checking out in the hall. He motioned them to go along when he saw that there were no other guards patrolling. Liam exited last, handing Lukas the guard's sword and Ivor one of his backups and Liam held on to the keys, quickly locking the door with a key labeled 345 to match the number 345 on the plaque above the cell. The trio made their escape, swiftly and eeeeevvveeeerrrr so quietly… (Let me know if you see

After paying the confiscation room a quick visit to grab their swords and other materials that were snatched from them, they walked aimlessly around the gigantic castle, in hopes of finding the throne room. Liam had his sword out and at the ready if anyone ever approached. He heard three thumps from a room.

"What was that?" Liam questioned, his sword aimed at it, his bad arm clutched to his chest like usual, as if it would protect it from anything.

"Guards!" he heard a familiar voice hiss from the inside, and he raised an eyebrow, approaching the door and opening it. It turned out to be a throne room, the very throne room they were looking for the whole time.

"Guys, seems like we found the place we were looking for." Liam looked back to his brother and friend, putting his sword away as he walked in to find whoever was hiding in here.

"This must be the throne room!" Ivor announced, making Liam shush him.

"Not so loud!"

"And, we already know this is the throne room. I mean, the Founder's throne is literally right there." Lukas motioned ahead of them as they turned a left around a corner, only to find three people hiding in the shadows. Both groups screamed in surprise, all but Liam, who shushed them.

"Not so loud-"

"Liam!" Petra exclaimed, glomping her boyfriend.

"Uh, you two are together, I see?" Milo's voice joined her worrying statements, and Jesse only chuckles in reply as Liam's sword drops to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her in return.

"I'm glad you're alright. Jesse, Milo, and I, we watched as you got knocked out and taken away." Petra muttered, loosening her grip and pulling away. Liam kept his hands on her shoulder.

"I'm okay, Peets." He joked, kissing her forehead.

"Alright, alright, enough with this nonsense!" Ivor interrupted, pushing between the two. "We have to find the Eversource before Aiden and his jerkfaced friends get to it first!"

"And before the guards or the Founder finds us." Milo reminded them, holding a finger up as he spoke. Not the middle finger, the pointer. Liam sighs.

"Let's get searching, then. It'd be better if we split up." Lukas pointed out, as the rest of the group agreed, going their separate ways to search for a way to get to the Eversource.

A blaze of red caught his eye, and Liam turned towards it. There was someone lurking amongst the shadows. He knew someone was there, but decided to act as if there weren't. He went towards Lukas.

"I'm going to need your help, but act casual." Liam whispered, chuckling a little for effect. Lukas chuckles along.

"Yeah, what do you need?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow as he leaned against the side of the throne.

"There's someone on the other side, by the library. I don't want to scare them off. Just go towards the library and pick out a book. We'll corner him the best we can. Alright?" Liam leaned against the side of the throne, and Lukas nodded, before Liam shook his head with a smile and patted his brother's shoulder before walking off towards the doors, as if he's going to exit the throne room. There was a hole in the wall, where the thief (Liam assumed) was hiding.

"Hm. What this? A book by the Founder herself? And it's the number one bestseller?" Lukas whistled, shaking his head. He wasn't lying. There was, indeed, a book by the Founder. Liam raised his eyebrows with a shrug, and noticed the figure sneaking out to attack Lukas. Liam leapt forward, wrapping his arms around the arms of the short guy.

"Urgh!" The guy grunted, yet he was no use to Liam's muscle. "Let go of me!" he exclaimed, trying to get help in escaping. Help wouldn't come.

"Nath? What the hell are you doing here?!" Liam scolded, as Lukas pulled out lead to bound his wrists.

"Woah, woah, what's going on?" Jesse exclaimed, as she and the rest of the group rush up.

"Aren't you going to put him in that lead?" Ivor questioned, clearly not fond of the kiddo. The others began to blaze questions and accusations that Nath was with Aiden. Nath began to cower, backing away.

"Shut up!" Liam shouted at them, making them go silent. "Nath will not be bound in lead, and he does not work for Aiden. That much I know for a fact!" Liam glared at all of them. "I'll admit, I jump to conclusions sometimes, but this is outrageous! He's just a kid!"

"Yeah, a kid who can easily manipulate you!" Milo glared at the kiddo, who just glared right back.

"Nath, please tell us the truth because your world depends on it, okay?" Liam bent down on one knee to face the child, who nods. "Now, what were you doing here?"

"I was getting a book for my mother."

"A book? You sneak in here to get a book? Why can't you buy it from a store?" Petra raised an eyebrow.

"Because it's a pretty secret book. It's actually a medical book by this guy named Soren. Mom needs it to improve her skills."

"Do you expect the Founder to notice it's gone?"

"That's why I have this." Nath pulled out another book from his inventory. It looked exactly like the book he was looking for, which Ivor held in his hand. His other hand was on the shelf where he took the book from.

"Why are you replacing the same book with another copy of itself?" Jesse asks, looking down at the kid.

"Because the one old guy is putting in now-"

"Hey!"

"-is all blank. This one has the procedures in it." Liam just sighs.

"Look, you'll have to leave. We have business to attend to." Liam motioned to the people around him as the group split again, going to find a way to get into the secret door.

"Why can't I join you? I'm quick on my feet. I can fight."

"Because it's simply too dangerous if we run into bad people."

"It's also dangerous to go out there-" Nath pointed out the window where he had apparently came in.

"Why?"

"Guards are all over the place, probably looking for the prisoners they caught. Meaning you, blondie, and oldie." Nath glared. Liam was about to protest, but thought better against it.

"Fine. Strength in numbers, I guess. But right after this, you're going home to your mother. Do you understand?" Liam stood from his position in kneeling. Nath nods, crossing his arms.

"I'll be a good addition to your team, and I'll prove it."

"I sure hope you do, kiddo." Liam chuckles, ruffling his hair.

 **And that's a wrap! Longest chapter yet, mind you. Worked real hard on this one, so I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **If you'll excuse me, I've got more Battlefront missions to complete on my One. :) I'll see you-**

 **in the next chapter!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	11. Episode 5: Chapter 10

It took a few minutes for Jesse to get the lever they needed to open the door from a dead bush and a stone generator made from lava and water. Liam had his own, but it didn't need lava or water. Living underground was enough.

"When do you think they'll figure it out?" Nath tugged on Liam's sleeve, looking up at the much taller guy.

"Quickly, that much I know. Jesse's smart; she can easily piece the hardest of puzzles with time."

"But we don't _have_ that much time left, Liam. A guard will pass by any moment now-" The throne room shook a bit, making the younger kid fall on his backside. A door had opened, and Jesse had opened it with the lever she made. Liam helped Nath up, going to join the group on the other side, but he was stopped by guards at the front entrance.

"Go!" Liam hissed, motioning for them to get into the carts and leave them. He held Nath back, pulling him behind him with his good arm.

"We have to get over there-"

"Shush!" Liam looked to the door. Sure enough, the Founder was about to appear with Aiden and the Blazin Jerks and more guards.

"They could be in here!" Aiden claimed, as Nath grabbed Liam's hand, sprinting across the throne room to the window where he had snuck in.

"This time, you're following my lead or you die at the hands of these guys. You in?"

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Liam glanced back. They hadn't looked in their direction yet, but they were getting fairly close. Nath jumped to the wall by the window. He used the torches to climb up. Somehow without burning himself. Liam jumped off right behind him, just barely missing the glimpse of a guard. The two climb until they make it onto the roof. "That's how you got in?" Liam questioned the younger boy.

"I thought the interrogation is over?" Nath deadpanned, as they went around the egg-shaped tower.

"It is, just answer the question." Liam couldn't hide a smirk. He liked this kid's sass.

"Yes, that's how I got in." Nath nods. "I found this room below the castle and it had this odd looking chicken. I sometimes snatch food from there when we're running low."

"So you're a thief?"

"Of course I'm a thief, I steal stuff."

"Why do you steal the food? You could be arrested and probably be killed, you know."

"They haven't caught me yet, have they? Plus, they have _more_ than enough." Nath shook his head with a sigh. "Okay, as I was saying from before, this room below the castle- that door we came across upstairs probably leads down to it, so we'll find your friends there if Aiden hasn't Spartan-kicked them over the edge. It's real idiotic to not have a fence, honestly-"

"We better hurry. There's no doubt that the Founder will realize we were there by the lever that was left out. You have any lead?"

"What happened to the lead blondie was gonna tie me up in?"

"It's blondie's lead, not mine." Nath rolled his eyes at how Liam was getting a little cocky back at him. No one sasses the sass master. The smol redhead tosses his friend a roll of lead, placing down a fence post. He placed another down next to it for Liam. _Jeez, and he's freaking 11!_

"We go down, we kick their- can I say it?"

"No."

"Fine. Buttocks." Nath goes down first, like he's done this many times before. Liam follows him down, grasping the lead with his good arm.

"Have you done this before?"

"Many times. And, I have to apologize, actually."

"What for?"

"For lying."

"Lying about what?"

"My dad isn't dead. He's one of the guards, and Mom's always have held a grudge against him for divorcing with her. She got me trained and sent me to take things away from him. But it's like it's doing nothing, you know?"

"That's kind of ironic for how I lived my childhood, actually. Instead of taking things from my dad, I got things for him, which is actually just as worse. The only difference, I think, is that I was self-taught how to survive. Almost died a few times."

"Wow, really?" Nath looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and he nods.

"Yep." Liam nods, laughing a little. There was a silence as they continued climbing down.

"Is it bad that I don't have a dream of what to do in the future?" Nath sounded worried for himself.

"It's okay to not yet know what you're doing in the future. Heck, it's okay to not yet know what you're doing now. Life is hard, kid, and it's gonna get harder and harder as you go. There will be mountains and valleys and oceans and so much more to come across. Don't forget that you can do anything and everything, so long as you work hard for it. No path is too difficult to explore and it's never too late to turn back once you walk down the wrong one.

"Now come on, our friends are waiting." Liam gave Nath a smirk, as the two decided to quiet down for their entrance.

"I'll go in first." Nath whispered, and Liam nodded, beginning to swing himself side to side. When he looked down, all he saw was the end of a lead and three people falling into the deep Void. One had blond hair and the other two had darker hair. The blond couldn't make out who they were, but he hoped they were guards. Just guards.

Grunts and groans could be heard from inside the room as Liam continued to pick up speed and running along the wall. He did a pretty huge semicircle, and let's just say, Aiden didn't know what hit him. Literally.

"What is-" He began, but he didn't get to finish as Liam had tackled him to the ground, landing punches left and right. The guards seemed confused on what to do; an ally just became an enemy. Gil and Maya were too busy dealing with Nath, who wasn't handling the two so easily as he did Aiden. Petra, Milo, and Ivor were surrounded by guards in a corner.

"Where's Lukas?" he exclaimed in questioning, managing to hold Aiden's hands, including his injured arm.

"He's in the Void, you brat of an older brother!" Aiden glared up at him, before landing a punch on his jaw. Liam flew back, and now it was Aiden on top of him, holding his punches down. Liam allowed himself to look weaker, and kept bringing his hands down lower and lower to where Aiden wanted them. Right before he yanked one away and socked him in the mouth. Aiden's head snapped back with a grunt, and he looked to the side, spitting out a tooth. "You bastard! I'll kill you!" Aiden growled, finally landing punches on Liam.

"You let go of him!" Petra shouted, charging into his side. She was weaponless, as the guards had confiscated her weapons when she was first surrounded. Now it was Petra's turn to throw punches.

"You idiots! Help me!" Aiden exclaimed at Gil and Maya. _Bad move, bud._ Liam smirked, then realized there was blood in his mouth. From Aiden, he got a bruised jaw and a cut lip. The lip was probably the source of the bleeding. Nath grabbed Gil's sword from his pockets and cut his knee just like Gil had to Liam earlier, making the older guy fall. Nath still sat on his own buttocks, possibly injured. Liam dodged Gil and scooped up Nath in his arms, making his escape.

As soon as he and his friends got outside, Liam realized that they left the chicken inside. Petra swore, as he did not know the chicken was valuable.

"What?" Liam questioned, as he continued walking in the direction of Nath's house. Nath's knee was broken, making him unable to walk.

"That chicken back there was the damned Eversource and we left it in the hands of Aiden and the Blazin Jerkfaces!" Ivor groaned, as Petra and Milo follow him.

"This is going to be bad. If there's one mob out, there's no doubt that there's many more. We'll have to evacuate this place."

"And go into the Void? No way, that'll be erasing the human race!" Milo looked down at the blond as the small redhead rested in his arms.

"He's right. Jesse, Lukas, and the Founder haven't quite gotten back. We'll have to wait to see if they're alive. For now, we'll protect the people." Petra spoke up. Ivor and Milo appeared to agree.

"Go and start doing that, then. I have to get him home to his mother." Liam felt a bit hurt that Petra didn't agree with him, but it was their opinion, their plan.

"There's going to be no home to go to soon-"

"Shut up!" Liam snapped at Milo, glaring at the older blond. Yep, Liam held a burning passion.

"Woah, Liam, are you alright?" Petra began, stepping towards him, but he sighs.

"I'm fine, Petra." He nods, continuing on his way. Petra only sighs, looking away as she and Liam went their separate ways. Petra to take on the monsters and protect Sky City while Liam walked his friend home.

"Liam!" Lily exclaimed, clearly surprised. She noticed he was holding her son in his arms. "Wh-what happened?"

"Your kid injured his knee on a little theft adventure. You're lucky it's for the good and not for the bad. And he's lucky it was my brother and I who had found him and not his father."

"He told you, didn't he?"

"Yes. And you were surprised to have helped a criminal when you live with a thief."

"I had to keep us on the lay-low!" Lily protested, inviting the two in.

"Lily, relax, alright? Look, the bad people I said I was fighting and had to be the reason of coming here to you the first time, they've got the Founder's Eversource. There's no doubt that they will release chaos. Can you fight for you and your son?" Lily was shocked, as Liam placed her son comfortably on the bed.

"As long as you fight for me while I take care of his knee." Lily nods, and Liam took out his sword, going near their front yard to take down the zombies that were spawning like mad.

This was going to be one long battle.

 **That's another wrap! Going to be a bit busy, so I guess I'll see you all soon!**

 **I'm also going to concentrate on some other stories and stories in progresses.**

 **I need you to take a poll on my Twitter. I don't know whether I should continue on with a story or just delete it. You can find me GirlOfMyWorld11.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	12. Episode 5: Chapter 11

It was chaos in just a mere few minutes. Skeletons took posts and began to fire their arrows, zombies were roaming and making the chomp on others, spiders were climbing up walls and breaking into homes through windows, and that wasn't all. Ghasts flew overhead, blasting their destructive fire charges, creepers were blowing up everywhere, and more and more mobs joined the bunch.

"Liam, help!" came a scream from inside the house. Liam's eyes widened, and he managed to defeat a few more zombies before running into the house. Right after he shut the door, he barricaded it by placing two stone blocks on top of one another and rushing upstairs only to make it in time for Lily to corner spiders. Liam gasps, going to help her and taking down a few spiders, but they kept on coming. The blond's sword broke and went up in a cloud of dust. "Liam, get Nath and get out of here!" Lily called out to him, managing to punch and kick some spiders to their death.

"Not without you!"

"Yes without me!" Lily stopped him. "Look, this is what I ask you to do! This is your return to me! Watch over my son for me, after this era of Sky City!" She was harmed by a spider once. Twice. "Go! Take the potions with you!" she exclaimed, as she was taken down.

Liam's breath was caught in his throat, but he had no time to stand around. He turned and ran out of the room, looking for her son.

"Nath, we have to get out of here! Where are you?" Liam shouted through the house, kicking down doors. Nath was hiding in his room.

"Wait, Liam, where's my mom?!" Liam didn't answer. "Liam, answer me!" Nath was still met with silence until Liam just shook his head. "She's..." Nath blinked back tears and just stayed silent from there.

"Look, we'll make her a grave and mourn later-" Wow, Liam. That came out wrong. "-but right now, you have to tell me where her potions are. She said she wanted us to take them." Liam looked down at Nath, who just nods.

"They're in her study. It's the room at the end of the hallway." was all his reply was, in a soft mutter as his arms tightened around Liam's neck. Liam held the kid closer to him, carrying him bridal style as he ran through the hallways, searching for the door Nath told him about.

"That's all you have to say for now." Liam's arm was throbbing, and so was his front, but he didn't care at the moment. All he cared about was getting those potions and getting Nath out of there. As soon as he saw the birch door at the end of the hallway, he picked up speed and kicked it down. Liam quickly put Nath on a small sofa, going around the chests and taking as many potions as he could carry. He began to give some to Nath to put in his own inventory, before he heard the monsters outside the door. "Come on, kid." Liam lifting Nath up once again and breaking a window before jumping onto the nearest tree. Just like that, they made their escape from the infested house and Liam sprinted to the Founder's Garden with Nath in tow.

There were citizens of Sky City fighting back, there were citizens dying… Liam sure wasn't wrong when he knew this was chaos.

"Jesse!" Liam exclaimed, as he turned a corner to find the brunette and Milo chatting. She looked at him and her eyes widened.

"Duck!" she exclaimed, running at him. Liam did as he was told, and she took out a creeper creeping up behind him. As she did that…

"Quack!" Liam exclaimed. After the three regrouped, Milo still seemed to be in shock at Jesse.

"With all seriousness, Jesse, how are you still alive? I thought I saw you go into the Void!" Milo looked at Jesse, and that reminded Liam all of a sudden.

"Where's Lukas?"

"Lukas is fine, Liam. So is Isa, the Founder. Believe it or not, there's _land_ down there! There has been land this entire time."

"You speak truthfully?"

"Jesse don't lie about this type of stuff, Milo." Liam chuckles, a smirk on his face as he shook his head. _Jeez, Lukas is going to get one heck of an earful from me._

"This is amazing." Milo breathed, as a ghast flew overhead, totally missing them. "Well, I can't wait to hear all about it later!" he bade them goodbye, and Jesse finally noticed the boy in Liam's arms. He answered before she even got to ask.

"Nath hurt his knee, shortly after you fell over the edge. And, not too long ago…" Liam sighs. "He lost his mom. She left him in my care." Jesse nods.

"We'll figure it out later, alright?"

"Yeah. Sounds good." Liam nods. "Take care of Aiden, alright? I knocked out a tooth for you, so that should be a good headstart." the blond winked before sprinting off for cover. He couldn't fight with his hands full. Literally. So he stuck with kicking butts as Jesse ran off.

It was dark and cold and rainy. Nath didn't have the armor that Liam had (which kept him warm) and the kiddo shivered constantly in Liam's arms. Liam tried to share as much body heat as he could, but every time thunder echoed through the air or lightning flashed, Nath would flinch. It took Liam minutes to realize that Nath was afraid of lightning and thunder.

"Jesse! Liam!" Petra called out to the two. They both regrouped with the rest, who had Maya and Gil on their knees with their hands up. Aiden joined the bunch as Jesse did.

"You have the punk with you?" Ivor asked, surprised.

"Why would I throw him over the edge? It's not me." Jesse shot back, a little harsher than she has wanted to. As they spoke, more and more citizens were dying. Nath glared up at the sky, before jumping from Liam's arms and limping towards the pool of water.

"Nath, what are you doing?!" "No!" "Stop!" rang out from the group, and Liam attempted to go after him, but he was soon stopped as he realized what Nath was doing and backed away.

"Liam, what the hell? Are you going to stop him?!" Ivor shouted at the blond, as the redhead by the pool raised his hands suddenly and the water shot up from the pool. It easily took care of the ghasts in the sky as they were practically made of fire.

"Holy- he's the water elemental!" citizens exclaimed, as Nath brought the water back down, repeatedly hitting the end of the pool that faced the bridge his friend helped build shortly before they met. The end wobbled before breaking off completely, giving them a waterfall to escape.

"Jesse, the situation is out of hand!" Isa exclaimed, approaching the group as Milo and his group rushed up with the rest of the living citizens in tow.

"She's right, we can't protect all the monsters _and_ save the people!" Nath exclaimed, managing to wash away the monsters surrounding them.

"There's the escape route Nath just made!" Jesse announced, running to the side. "We could jump for it!"

"Are you crazy? The waterfalls will take us into the Void!" a citizen exclaimed, but Jesse didn't listen. She jumped in, and Liam followed, with Nath in tow.

"Jesse has done nothing but help us so far! I will show you how much I believe in her!" Milo shouted out to the crowd that was backing away in fear. Milo jumped in, his builder group following behind him. Soon enough, everyone was hopping into the water and falling down the falls. Petra and Ivor either kicked or pushed the Blaze Rods into the water, which was quite the laugh.

And thus, the end of the Sky City era was commenced.

 **Almost done with Episode 5!**

 **Now, I have some questions for you readers, and answer truthfully...**

 **1) What do you think of Nath?**

 **2) Do you like how I gave him powers?**

 **3) Are you excited for Episode 6 to come (within this story, I mean.)?**

 **4) What should I have for lunch?**

 **Just kidding about that last question. XD I am hungry after a morning of writing out this chapter.**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	13. Episode 5: Chapter 12

As soon as they landed, Liam spotted Lukas and swam to shore immediately.

"Lukas!" the blond laughs, happy he was alive.

"Liam!" Lukas laughs, helping his brother out by taking his good hand and pulling him into a hug. Liam rested his head on his brother's shoulder, clenching his eyes shut. Lukas sighs. "I wouldn't die on you, bud." he comforted, as Liam's grip on his brother hardened.

"Heh, same from me to you, lil' brother."

"Okay, yeah, yeah, adorable and all, but we have other matters to take care of!" Ivor interrupted the moment. Well crap you too, old man. Liam pulled away from Lukas, as he spotted Nath limping over. Liam thought he could handle himself until someone brought him fresh bandages. She had red-brown hair that reached her midback with blue eyes and freckles. The girl helped him to a tree and took off the bandages his mother had put on him. Nath looked down as he watched her scrap the bandages.

"Hey, Nath, you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"No, he's not." Freckles shook her head. _Wow, sassy like Nath himself._ Liam was tempted to wiggle his eyebrows.

"Uh, Liam, meet Ivy. Ivy, meet Liam. He's the one who saved my life up there."

"Nice to meet you, Ivy." Ivy only nods in greeting, concentrating on wrapping the bandages tightly around his knee so they wouldn't fall.

"Liam, I'd like to speak with you for minute." a clear and bold voice sounded behind him, and Liam turned his head to find Isa standing behind him. The chicken clucked.

"So that clucking thing was the Eversource this whole time, huh?" Liam joked, standing back up.

"She _was_ , actually. She doesn't have to be anymore, now that there's all this…" Isa motioned around her and laughs along. But she soon turned back to all seriousness. "But that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, go ahead."

"Some kids lost their parents in the chaos up there… A little too many. Reggie and I, we were hoping you could take young Nathanael under your care." Liam was dumbfounded.

"Me?"

"Well, yeah! You're the closest thing to a parent for this little guy!" Reggie appeared behind him, kneeling down and ruffling Nath's hair, making him smile a little. "Plus, we trust you to protect the water elemental." Nath looked up at Liam with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Of course I'll take him in." Liam chuckles, nodding as Ivy finished up.

"Good. Ivy, another guard has already agreed to take you come. Come on, I'll take you to him." Isa turned and led the way to the guard, Ivy in tow.

"I'll see you soon, Ivy!" Nath called out as Liam picked him up, piggy-back style.

"Bye!" Ivy bade, turning around and walking backwards to wave, before jumped back around and jogging to catch up to Isa. Nath let out a small sigh, wrapping his arms around Liam's neck and resting his head on his shoulder. Liam smiles at the kiddo, lifting him on his back and walked back to his group. Lukas rushed over and scooped up Jesse in a hug.

"Hey, you made it!" he grins, spinning her for a second as Jesse's arms wound around his neck.

"How are they _not_ together?" Nath questioned, holding out a hand as if saying 'What the heck?' You all should know the international 'what the heck' symbol. Liam laughs.

"I know, huh?" Ivor rolled his eyes. Even he shipped Lukesse. Wow. As he spoke, Petra walked up to Liam, leaning up and kissing his cheek. The two didn't say a word to each other, as they both already knew what they were saying.

"Now, I'm just speculating here, but I think these guys might have some regrets." Petra spoke up, watching as Aiden, Gil, and Maya are handcuffed with lead and walked in their direction.

"I feel a bit bad." Jesse admitted, after being put back down on her feet. Aiden stopped and looked at Jesse.

"Look, Jesse, ah, I'm really sorry. I'll take the time in prison, heh… maybe write a book?" Aiden apologized, then glanced at the ground. "Thanks for, well, not leaving me up there, by the way." Jesse only gave him a smile and nods.

"Hey." she looked at the guards. "Make sure he gets a book and a quill." They nod, and continued leading Aiden along.

"Even the nicest of people can go bad, and the worst of people can go good." Nath smiles, still hanging on to Liam.

"Attention! At-ten-tion!" Reggie shouted out to the people, most definitely catching their attention.

"Hello? Everyone? Please, this is your Founder speaking!" The group made their way to the front, where a majority of children sat. "Now that we are safe, we should start organizing. Planning our new community."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Milo exclaimed, pushing past Jesse and Ivor to get up to where the Founder was. "We were prisoners long enough as it is! We should be able to run free and build whatever we want!"

"Wow, those two just cannot get along." Petra looked at Jesse, shaking her head at the two.

"I'll take care of it." Jesse encouraged Petra, stepping ahead to take control of the conversation.

"Jesse, I cannot allow my people to be influenced by this… naive idealist!" Isa complained.

"Bah! I'm sure I DO look like a naive idealist through the eyes of an oppressive dictator!"

"Hey, fighting isn't going to solve anything!" Jesse exclaimed at the two of them, immediately silencing them.

"It will if I win!"

"Oh, of course you'd think that way!" Isa facepalmed. "Look, we have to prepare! It will be night soon, and that is when the monsters will come out."

"You're just making excuses to control our behavior, just like before! We must trust in ourselves, be able to learn from mistakes!" Milo did have a point, but the crowd was torn on who to go to.

"Well, you could share power." Jesse suggested. "I mean, you can't just run around without rules, but you can't schedule and organize everything either. People need to be free to try new things, but you gotta be safe about it." The people agreed with Jesse's idea.

"I suppose I have much to learn… Thank you, Jesse." Milo rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't understand yet, but I trust you." Isa looked down at Jesse as well. She was a block shorter than they. Only because they were standing on a block. The two then jump down from their perch. "Well, I guess the era of Sky City is over."

"We may disagree about how to run this place, but I thank you for everything you've done to this place and for us." Milo gave Jesse a grin.

"I guarantee you that your visit will be told in stories for many more years to come." Isa promised, and Jesse turned her attention to him.

"Isa, try to play nice with Milo, alright?" She gave the former Founder a look. "I know he's a little crazy and you both don't always get along, but he really does care about the people."

"Yes, I'm starting to see that." Isa nodded, "And I will try my best." She sent a smile over to Milo.

"I ship it." Liam whispered to Nath, who snickered behind a hand as Liam grins and approached the others.

"You know something?" Lukas began, his eyes meeting Jesse's, "She was a little scary at first… but she's alright."

"I'm going to miss that crazy guy. He was epic." Petra added, talking about Milo.

"I'm going to miss my mom…" Nath jumped in, and Liam felt him rest his head on his back.

"Heh, I'm not even away from home a whole day and I already miss mine." Liam encouraged Nath. "You'll do just fine without her, kiddo. Plus, she's always with you, you know."

"Thank you." Nath nods, closing his eyes. He needed the rest. Liam smiles, turning back to his friends.

"Well, we better prepare too. Without another portal, we're stuck here." Petra pointed out, her hands on her waist as she spoke. She sighs. "It's been a while since I've had to start from square one."

"Same with me." Liam shook his head with a sigh.

"And when I thought my days of punching trees were behind me." Ivor groaned, turning around to spot a guy punching a tree. Lukas just chuckles at them.

"That would be the case, but luckily you had me as your advance scout." Jesse grins as she and Lukas share a look.

"What do you mean?" Liam questioned, as Nath shifted into a more comfortable position on his back.

"While I was here with the Founder before, Lukas and I found the portal!"

"And you didn't say anything? I was getting ready to punch trees!" Ivor exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with him on this one." Petra gave Lukas and Jesse a look.

"I thought I mentioned something about it earlier…" Lukas mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, you did not!" Ivor glared at the blond, who rolls his eyes at the Potion Master's antics.

"Well, the moment just never presented itself. Come on!" Jesse bade, and the five took off in a run, before being interrupted by a tumbling chicken.

"Ah, there you are!" Isa laughs, catching up to the small animal. "So sorry about her." the former Founder apologized.

"That's okay; it looks like she's having some fun running around." Jesse laughs, as the Eversource looked up at the two.

"Yes. I think she took it pretty well when I told her she didn't need to be the Eversource anymore." Isa bent on her knee to look down at the chicken. "What are we going to do with you now, huh?" she cooed, and the chicken clucked in return.

"Have you tried to set her free?"

"I tried, but she kept coming back. After so long together, we must feel like we need each other, you know? After so long of being 'The Founder' and 'The Eversource,' I guess we are now just Isa and her best friend…" Isa took the small crown off of the chicken's head. "Benedict."

"Benedict? That's a-" Cue Liam stomping on Ivor's foot. "-good name, augh!"

"Jesse, I would like you to take this crown. As a little treasure from me." Isa smiled at Jesse, giving her the crowd. Jesse thanked Isa, a smile on her face as she put the crown in her pockets. Isa bade them all goodbye and left with Benedict. Liam noticed Jesse's gaze drift over to the pack of pigs nearby, and her face turned into a frown.

"Jesse, you okay?" Lukas questioned, clearly concerned as Liam gave Ivor the potions he had received from the kind woman who had helped him near the beginning of this adventure.

"Oh, I just saw those pigs, and.. Y'know…" Jesse trailed off, hoping he would get the idea.

"Hey, he would be really happy to know that you're still having adventures like this." Petra gave Jesse a comforting smile.

"Plus, he's still with you, you know. Just like how Nath's mother, Lily, is still with him."

"Wait, the kid's coming with us?"

"Yeah. I guess I'm a dad now, to an adopted kid." Liam chuckles, looking back at the sleeping Nath on his back. _Achievement Successful, I guess. Now for the next one; getting the guts to propose to Peets._ He swapped Nath's position to in front of him before joining the others by the portal.

"I can't wait to just put this whole world behind us." Ivor chuckles, landing on the ground.

"Ooohh, is someone being grumpy?" Petra cooed to the older man.

"NO!" Ivor exclaimed a little too quickly, and Liam laughs as he added, "A little… I mean, livestock is no proper treasure. Although I would like to know what would happen if you put that crown on another chicken…"

"Not happening." Jesse deadpanned, looking back at him as they reached the portal. "Alrighty.. Let's go home." She took out the flint and steel and lit the portal. Liam welcomed the blue glow and the whooshing noises it made. "Wait til Axel and Olivia hear where we've been. They'll never believe-" Jesse began as they went through, only to land in someplace far from home. "-it."

"That was not at all what we were expecting." Liam groaned, hanging his head. Instead of the world they called home, they landed in a huge hallway with over a dozen portals.

 **Dun dun dunnn!**

 **Today was a huge update day for me. Whooh! So, I may take a few days off from this story and update another. I haven't updated The Shadowy Sparks in a while, so it's about time I do so!**

 **And, possibly this Saturday (6/11) or Sunday (6/12), you will see a new MCSM fanfiction beginning in Episode 6. Soon, you will also be seeing a TWDG fanfiction with FNAF laced into it.**

 **Man, I'm currently working on FOUR stories! It's a lot of hard work, but it's the only way to become a better writer!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	14. Episode 6: Chapter 13

Liam held onto Nath tightly as he landed in the new world. He sighs, after looking around.

"Nope. Not home. Most definitely not home." he shook his head, his hand still on Nath's back. Nath's legs were wrapped around the guy's waist while his arms were around his neck, and his head rested on his shoulder in relaxation.

It was quite a dark and eerie place they had landed. Well, it was dark mainly because it was nighttime, but it was also dark on other levels. The group landed in a graveyard, where almost a dozen of the dead had probably been buried.

"Uh, Liam?" Nath's voice questioned, and Liam looked at him as Nath leaned away from the comfort of his boy.

"Yeah, Nath?" Liam asks, looking to where the boy is facing. The boy's green eyes were up in the sky, where two moons remained. "Wow…" Liam breathed. He wasn't real big on astrology and meteorology and that type of stuff, but he was still fascinated by it all.

"Okay…" Jesse spoke at last, and paused to take a look around. Her eyes stopped on Liam and Nath for a moment and she sighs, facepalming.

"What?" Nath asks, resting his head back on Liam's shoulder but still facing the others.

"Every time I see you carrying him, I keep thinking, 'Holy crap, did I go forward in time somehow?' because he looks like he's really your kid, despite the eyes." Jesse explained, then Liam blushes a little, as did Petra.

"You'll be seeing one of my creations someday, though." Liam gave Petra a wink, only making her mutter an 'oh my god' and covering her red face in her hands. Liam laughs, shifting Nath's weight over to one arm and using his now free arm to wrap around Petra's shoulders and pull her in for a quick kiss on the cheek. He rubs her arm for a few moments before releasing her and putting Nath's weight back on both arms.

"Anyways," Jesse shook her head to snap out of the little moment they had there. "Well, I see grass, and forests, and trees, and lots and lots of ground in all directions, so that's good." She mentioned, doing another 360 before stopping to face the others. Ivor cleared his throat and motioned up towards the two moons. Jesse looked up, and Petra and Lukas followed her eyes.

"Verdict says?" Petra managed to keep her red face at bay to speak. "Definitely not our world. You owe me two iron, Lukas."

"And a kid-"

"No kids!" Petra snapped suddenly, and Liam laughs again while his brother seemed to cower under his girlfriend's glare. "Are we seriously going over this? Look, _maybe_ we'll have a kid, but now's not the time nor the place!"

"Fine, two iron."

"Pay up." Petra held her hand out towards Lukas, awaiting the dull silver ingots from their bet.

"Aw, come on, can't you hear it?" Jesse questioned, looking back at the others.

"Hear what?" Liam questioned, turning to her so he could see her better. Jesse paused, staring at them again before facepalming at herself and releasing a huge sigh.

"Uh, I think she's talking about the sounds of the spooky forest around us." Petra answered, looking to Jesse as she put the two iron in her inventory.

"It's the sound of a new adventure!" Jesse exclaims, looking to the others. "I bet this place is awesome!" she grins, holding her hands out as she looked around.

"I hope you're right." Lukas ran a hand through his hair. "I just… ugh." He groans and sighs, leaning against someone's tombstone. "I'm just worried about Axel and Olivia."

"What? Why?" Petra asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, if they followed us back to that Old Builder temple and went through the portal…" Lukas trailed off, hoping someone else will finish for him. Ivor was there to do exactly that.

"They would arrive in Sky City to find it blowing up with monsters!" he exclaimed.

"Let's just hope they didn't follow us and they're trying to hold the forte back home." Liam pointed out.

"If they did follow us, then they can handle themselves, no problem with that." Jesse sighs, turning and walking around to observe the area. "They'll find the next portal like we did, and hopefully, we'll all be back together again." The rest of the group seemed to agree as Liam relaxed against the stone wall fence of the graveyard.

"Well, I, for one, vote that we do not be so hasty to get out of here! Who knows what sorts of new treasures this world could hold?" Ivor looked around, hoping to find clues to _something._ Petra had her arms crossed and she looked at Jesse. When the two made eye contact, they both just shrug in unison. "Besides, unless the next portal is disguised as a tombstone, I'm not seeing it anywhere near here!"

"You guys see some sort of shape over there?" Jesse pointed towards the lake. When Liam turned, there was a lot of fog. He had to squint a bit to see what Jesse was talking about. There was something floating on a tombstone, one larger than the others.

"I think that's a book." Liam said, as Jesse, Petra, Lukas, and Ivor creeped forward to get a better look. He hung back, looking around. There were clatters in the bushes and trees nearby. "Uhh, guys?" Liam questioned, looking around cautiously. The unmistakable sound of footprints echoed, and Liam rushed up to the others, grabbing Petra's arm. "Guys, we have to go-"

"Not now, Liam. Jesse's reading what the book says!"

"Yes, now, Petra! There are zombies, a lot of 'em, and it ain't gonna look pretty if we don't scram now!" Nath hissed, looking at the others.

"I don't see, hear, or smell any damn zombies. Relax." Petra shot back, making Liam step back a bit. But the group was too concentrated on the book. Liam groans, snatching the book right from Jesse's hand and taking off into a run.

"Liam!" Lukas shouted, before the zombies groaned loudly. Petra's eyes widened. He was right. There were zombies around.

"What are we waiting for, let's follow Liam! Nath can read the book for us as he leads the way!" Ivor exclaimed, the next one to take off after Liam. Lukas follows, grabbing Jesse's hand as he went. Petra stood there frozen for a few seconds, unable to believe she had just snapped at Liam about these zombies.

"Petra, what are you doing?!" Jesse shouted, before running up and grabbing the redhead's hand and dragging her along until her feet got the message.

"Nath, read the book!" Liam exclaimed over the wind as his friends caught up.

"Alright, I got it, I got it!" Nath then cleared his throat, opening the book as Liam continued to run. " _Invitation. Read immediately, your life depends on it!_

" _Greetings Traveler,_

 _I humbly invite you to my mansion for an evening of food and festivity with your fellow adventurers. Come to my home on the hill. Just follow the path."_

"That's exactly what we're doing right now!" Lukas exclaimed, and Jesse shushed him so Nath could finish.

" _Please look out for zombies._

 _Sincerely, The Host."_

"They could've warned us about the zombie thing near the beginning!" Ivor exclaimed.

"Liam _told_ us about the zombies. It was all my fault, I didn't believe him!" Petra shook her head as she continued running.

"Well, this _is_ the largest concentration of zombies in one area! Could this Host have used a spawner?"

"A spawner? I don't think those exist, Liam! Never seen one!" Ivor exclaimed up to the blond as Nath held tightly to the book.

"You think this 'Host' is gonna be legit, Jesse?" Lukas asks the group leader.

"Well, it's better that we get out of this midst of zombies than stay in it! It's worth a shot!" Jesse glanced back at the blond (her blond ;) ) before he and Petra separated to get on higher ground.

"Race you up there!" Jesse exclaimed, managing to pass Liam to take the lead. Even Ivor passed him, laughing like a maniac.

"Eat my dust, Liam!" Ivor exclaimed as they passed into another graveyard. He tripped over a tombstone and fell flat on his face, allowing Liam to pass while shouting,

"Wasted!" with Nath laughing pretty hard.

"Hey!" Ivor exclaimed while picking himself back up.

The group, well, regrouped at the front gate. It wasn't all that hard, honestly. It was just a lot of running. Liam had the toughest part of it all. He was carrying a kid, for crying out loud!

"I win!" Jesse grins, throwing her fists in the air in victory.

"Okay, okay, you won that time. Just you wait until my knee's all better, then I can kick your butt." Nath gave Jesse a grin, before Liam shifted him to a better position.

"You still have the book, right?" Lukas looked at Nath, who held it out with one hand.

"I'll hold on to it until we get inside." Nath nods, tucking it back into his chest.

"Alright. Hold onto it tightly, there may be others inside and we'll need proof that we're not the Host and other adventurers as well." Liam sighs, looking down at the kiddo.

"Here, take this. You'll need it so you can both run with me in your arms and not get tired out, alright?" Nath handed Liam two potions. One was strength, and the other was regeneration. Liam quickly downed the two potions and suddenly, he felt a lot better and Nath also felt like a feather.

"Let's get inside." Ivor sighs, going to peek around the fountain with Jesse.

"Bad idea." Jesse sighs. There were zombies blocking their entrance. The gang tried to look for a path before a zombie would spot them. A small groan, like a roar to the other zombies, alerted them and they gasped, before they turned to make another run for it. Jesse led the way, circling the fountain and heading to go around the house in hopes for a back door. With Liam at full strength and all, he was able to keep up better than he was last time.

"There's no back door!" Petra exclaimed in a panic, looking to Jesse for a plan.

"Get wood, lots of it, alright?" Jesse looked across the team, before running towards a lone tree.

"I already have some, but it won't be enough! I'll start building!" Liam called out, building a straight up tower before placing Nath on the windowsill. "Here, take this to fend off the spiders, alright?" he told the child, handing him a sword. Nath just nods, as Liam jumped to a nearby tree and leaped off, doing a smooth roll onto the ground and beginning to help his friends gather wood. He hisses as a zombie attacked from his side, reopening his wound from only about a day ago. Yet Petra was there to help him.

"Liam!" she exclaimed, pulling out her sword as he sat back on the ground, holding his arm to his chest just as he had when he first injured it. "You!" Petra exclaimed, turning to the zombie that had hurt him. She did a spin and was so swift with her sword that the zombie stood in his spot, frozen, before the head slid off and the body fell to the ground in a poof of dust.

"Woah…" Liam breathed, looking up at his girlfriend.

"No one messes with my man!" Petra exclaimed at the area where the zombie once lied before turning and smirking down at Liam, holding a hand out. Liam took it, and he was quickly helped up.

"Come on, lovebirds!" Lukas called, as he and Jesse were just creating the stairs.

"Hey, you're the one building with my soon-to-be sister-in-law!" Liam exclaimed back, and Petra couldn't help but to laugh at Jesse's red face. Liam laughs, remember the two had 'accidentally' kissed at the Endercon Part II.

As soon as they had finished, Liam bent down and picked up Nath from his spot, taking his sword back in the process. He hisses right after, dropping Nath. Luckily, Petra caught the boy before he would hit the sil. She hoisted him into her own arms. Liam's gaze was matted on the new wound.

"I'm sorry, Liam. We're out of medicine and the objects needed to heal your arm-"

"No, don't waste anything on me. I just need more bandages, then I'll be fine." Liam reassured, as Nath rested his head on Petra's shoulder like he had on Liam's. Ivor gave him the said bandages and Liam wrapped them around his arm as they broke in.

 **Okay, like I said on my Twitter, this was pretty much all over the place, but it worked out the way I wanted to in the end, so that's good. :)**

 **What do you think will happen in the next chapter? I love feedback and prediction reviews!**

 **On to SOAF Chapter Three!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	15. Episode 6: Chapter 14

"Some kitchen." Jesse looked around as Petra carried Nath in.

"She carries me better than you do, Liam-"

"Oh, shush, Nath." Liam chuckles, rolling his eyes at him as he continued to roll the bandage around his arm.

"Here, let me help." Lukas stepped forward, towards Liam and taking the bandage from his brother's hand.

"It feels odd." Ivor looked at Liam. "We have potions, but not the medical type! What happened to all the medical ones?"

"We used the last for Liam's knee." Nath answered, for his mother wasn't there to answer for him.

"Hey, at least he can walk and run, you know." Lukas shrugged, taking care of Liam's arm. He wraps the bandage tightly around his arm, and used their last bit of squid ink to keep the bandage on his arm.

"Thanks." Liam gave his brother a smile.

"Anytime, shorty." Lukas pat his brother's back. The nickname made Liam gasp.

"I am four inches taller than you, thank you very mu-"

"TorqueDawg, you know I don't care if you took it…" A voice rang out from the other side of a door on the other end of the kitchen. Automatically, Liam stood protectively in front of Petra and Nath, watching the door closely. "Just give it back!"

"And I'm telling you for the last time, Sparklez, I didn't take the stupid thing!" A different voice, much deeper than the first, as a door flew open on the other side of the room. A guy wearing a tux without the tie and the top few buttons unbuttoned and red sunglasses walks in with another older man with a beard and black sunglasses. The bearded guy was clearly an asshole.

"I think we could avoid a lot of unpleasantness if-" the tux-minus-tie guy stopped as soon as he saw the New Order. When beardo-weirdo shoved past tux-minus-tie, Liam knew the beardo-weirdo was an ass. He stood in front of his girlfriend and Nath. Now that he thought of it, was Nath technically his son? He's only looking after the kiddo… Liam shook the thought from his head. He'd figure that out as soon as they all arrived home.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny. Show up super late, make us all sit and wonder what the heck is going on…" The beardo-weirdo was the one who spoke. "This is your place, right?" He asks, pulling out a book of invitation.

"TorqueDawg, relax a little. They have a kid with them!" the tux-minus-tie guy looks to Nath. "Don't mind him. He's usually like this." Nath only nods, his arms around Petra's neck.

"You brought your kid with you?" Beardo-Weirdo asks, a bit shocked yet mostly outraged. "Why would you bring your kid-"

"First off, he's not anyone's kid, we're watching over him!" Liam spoke up, taking the stand. "And, we also have an invitation, too. We don't live here." He shook his head, letting Jesse take over from there. She did, pulling out the book.

"What the heck is going on here?" Jesse asks, looking amongst them all. While she attempted to calm the atmosphere, Liam turned back to Petra.

"Do you want me to carry him from here?" he asks, referring to Nath.

"Yes, please. We'll just take turns. Let me know when your arm gets tired."

"I'm not _that_ heavy!" Nath protested, sticking his tongue out at Petra after being handed over.

"Hey, she's shorter and smaller than I." Liam teased, making Petra stick her own tongue out at him while she went up next to Jesse.

"Darn!" Tux-Minus-Tie guy sighs, looking down at his shoes. "Sorry for the language." he apologized, looking at the kiddo in Liam's arms.

"Mom's said worse when she was dealing with an impatient patient." Nath shook his head before resting it on Liam's shoulder.

"Anyways, that wasn't about you getting the invitation." Tux-Minus-Tie guy shook his head. "Just I was hoping _you_ could explain things." he motioned to the people in front of him. Jesse just shook her head as she put the book away. "This is TorqueDawg…" Tux-Minus-Tie guy introduced his friend.

"Still calling him Beardo-Weirdo." Liam muttered, but only Nath heard him and snickered.

"And I'm CaptainSparklez." Ah, Tux-Minus-Tie guy has a name. "Though, maybe you know that already." he chuckles, his hands on his waist.

"I think I've heard of you before!" Nath brightened up, turning to look at Sparklez.

"Really? Does it ring a bell for anyone else?" Sparklez looked at the rest, and Jesse nods.

"It's real nice to meet you, SirGlitter." Jesse joked, shaking the Captain's hand. Sparklez laughs along. Liam looked at Lukas and noticed his hands were clenched into balls. "Uh, anyways, I'm Jesse," Jesse introduced herself, and motioned to everyone as she said their names. "There's Liam and Lukas. The two are brothers. Nathanael's the kiddo we're watching over-"

"Call me Nath or Nathan."

"There's Petra, Liam's girlfriend, and then there's Ivor." Jesse finished, turning back to the two.

"Charmed." Ivor gave Sparklez a grin.

"'Jesse?' That's a boy's name." Beardo-Weirdo pointed out, arms crossed in a menacingly manner. "What are you guys anyways? Some sort of Loser Patrol?" He approached Lukas.

"TorqueDawg…" Sparklez chided, joining his friend.

"Come on, that was hilarious." Beardo-Weirdo rolled his eyes, laughing a little.

"You would know all about Loser Patrols, would you, loser?" Jesse shot back, and Petra seemed proud of her friend.

"I have raised you right." Petra whispered, giving a victory fist pump. Liam laughs at the two of them. Beardo-Weirdo was clearly taken off guard.

"What?" TorqueDawg turned to Jesse. "Are you fronting? Is that what's happening right now?" He shoved past them all, now standing in front of the blazing ovens. "What have you got, like, 12 fans?"

"TorqueDawg, cool it!" Sparklez exclaimed, clearly getting tired of Beardo-Werido's antics. "That sea of zombies has us all trapped, so we have to try our best to get along."

"Worst. Day. Ever." TorqueDawg growled, pacing in circles.

"Worst. Mullet. Ever. Eugene did a lot better." (Let me know if you get that reference!) Liam rolls his eyes.

"Just try and look on the bright side!" Sparklez kept his eyes on TorqueDawg, who seemed to have ignored Liam's remark.

"Maybe we could all work together to get through those zombies? Power in numbers and all that?" Jesse suggested, looking at Sparklez.

"That's what we're trying to figure out!" Sparklez exclaimed, not looking menacing in the very least. "It's just- everyone can't get along." he shook his head. By this time, the rest were watching. TorqueDawg was standing there, arms crossed.

"I tell you what, the minute them weirdo zombies are gone, TorqueDawg is outta here!" he exclaimed, pushing past Sparklez and Jesse again.

"So the sea of zombies isn't normal? Good to hear." Petra nods, walking back towards Liam and Nath.

"But two moons, though." Liam looked up towards the window nearer the ceiling where two moons shone brightly. "Is that normal?"

"The moons?" Sparklez asks, and Liam turned back to him, nodding. "Yeah, that's normal."

"Why don't you know about this stuff? You, like, from out of town or something?"

"More like out of-" Nath began with a scoff, but the lights went out suddenly. He clung to Liam for dear life, as Lukas suddenly grabbed Petra's arm. Liam listened closely as the people seemed to all erupt into chaos. Arrows fired from a dispenser above them, and Liam hoped it wasn't positioned over them. It probably got TorqueDawg, and Liam knew this by the sound of grunting that was coming from him.

"Everyone, dive for cover!" Jesse commanded, and, holding Nath in a very protective embrace, Liam ducked. The lights came back on, and Jesse was the first to gasp. Liam raised an eyebrow, and stepped forward to look at the scene. He gasps too, stepping back and keeping Nath's head turned away. There TorqueDawg was, lying on the cold hard ground with arrows pierced all over his body. Weird thing is, the arrows had green tips…

"Jesse." TorqueDawg rasped. "Jesse, c'mere…" Every stayed silent as Jesse stepped forward. She took his hand in her's, the same way she took Ellegaard's hand in her's when the Redstone Engineer had died, back shortly before the Wither Storm rose to become Wither Storms. "You've got… a girl's name." he managed, before dying and disappearing in a puff of smoke and dust.

"TorqueDawg? TorqueDawg!" Sparklez exclaims, getting on his knees. It was a pretty dramatic moment, like it was from a movie. So cliche.

"So I'm guessing calling dibs on his inventory would be-" Ivor began, but Petra scolded him off quickly, "-NOT classy, got it, got it."

"That poor guy… That's so awful." Jesse shook her head and sighs.

"Yeah, he may have been a jerk, but that's a nasty way to go." Petra added. Sparklez, Liam noticed, was trembling. Then, Sparklez stood suddenly and began to pace about.

"All those arrows! His inventory… everywhere! How did that… Who…?!" Sparklez was clearly stressed over the recent death. "One minute, he's alive! The next? Gone! Poof!"

"Sparklez, relax a little. I know it's your friend that had just died, but your panicking and ranting isn't really helping. Look, we'll figure it out, who got him and everything. We always do." Liam gave Jesse and the rest of his friends an encouraging smile. They nod with a smile back each.

"He's got a point. Pull yourself together." Jesse grabbed Sparklez by the shoulders and shook some sense into him.

"Whooh. You're right, heh. You're right. Thanks, Lukas."

"I'm Liam. The blue eyed with goggles is Lukas."

"Oh, uh, sorry-"

"No worries about that, it's just a continuous cycle." Lukas laughs a little, shaking his head. Jesse looked up, noticing a dispenser on the ceiling.

"Okay, stand back." she began to back everyone away from the area where TorqueDawg's inventory remained. "Lemme see what I can figure out."

 **Omg that's a record. I completed this chapter in an hour, no editing. Sorry, it's bedtime, and I only have time to finish this, publish it, and go through social media.**

 **Anyways, what kinds of relationships do you think will grow amongst them all? Jealousy, love, hate- I'd like to see what you believe will happen! Prediction reviews are my favorites!**

 **Wow, quite a while since I last updated! Hope you all like the chapter, anyways! It wasn't as long as I had hoped it would be, but it's long enough to satisfy me!**

 **Til then, dear readers!**


	16. Episode 6: Chapter 15

Despite the remark to Calm Down, Captain, Sparklez continued to mutter,

"This is… why is this happening?"

"Sparklez, please shut up." Nath mumbled from Liam's shoulder.

"At least you said 'please.'" Sparklez answered in reply. Liam shifted so Nath was comfier in his arms.

"Gunpowder, redstone dust, leather pants… pretty much what you'd expect in any normal inventory." Jesse pointed out, eyes intent downwards at TorqueDawg's inventory that was still lying out. The floor shifted suddenly, and TorqueDawg's inventory went down a hole in the floor, right where he died. Liam knew that this wasn't a coincidence.

"Who would do this?" Liam muttered, shaking his head. He felt Petra's hands rest on his bicep, her thumbs rubbing his muscle.

"Looks like this trapdoor that just took his stuff is a matched set with the dispenser up there." Jesse spoke as she looked down the hole before pointing up at the dispenser above them.

"But you saw his stuff. He didn't exactly have anything worth stealing." Lukas remarked, kneeling down next to her.

"Perhaps it was simply to dispose of the evidence?" Ivor questioned.

"He's got a point there." Liam mentioned, pointing at Ivor. He heard Petra sigh next to him.

"This whole thing is getting creepier by the minute." Liam looks down at his girlfriend, before shifting Nath's weight to one arm and using the other to rub her back comfortingly.

"Well, then there's this arrow… It's pretty weird-looking." Jesse plucked an arrow from the ground and walked a little away from the crime scene. "Ivor, you know potions and enchantments and all that stuff. What do you make of it?" she asks the older man, holding it out for him to take. Ivor walked up and took it, observing the arrow closely. He took a nice, long whiff, taking in its scent. Lukas stood next to Jesse.

"Mm, smells like… yes… Potion of Poison?" He spoke at last with a nod and turned back to the rest of the group. As he glanced down at the green-tipped arrow, Sparklez approached the Potion Master.

"Oh, is it a t-tipped arrow? Oh. I've heard of those… They're… They're still pretty new." Sparklez glanced at the murder object, rubbing at the back of his head. "Nasty stuff." he added.

"Using potions to make arrows… The possibilities are fascinating!" Ivor waved the tip around, and Lukas jumped back, as the arrow almost grazed his stomach.

"Stop waving that thing around!" Lukas exclaimed at him, glaring at him as Jesse took the arrow from Ivor.

"You alright?" She asks Lukas, while pocketing the arrow. Lukas nods in reply, grasping her hand for a minute. "Anyways, Sparklez- you said you knew about these tipped arrows. Anything else you're not telling us?" Jesse gave him _the_ glare, as in the tell-us-what-you-know-or-I-will-rip-your-head-off glare. Sparklez seemed to cower a bit, but his expression showed he wasn't scared, after the whole fiasco.

"You're not implying what I think you're implying, right? Because I had nothing to do with this! Nothing!" Sparklez sure is one for stirring up drama. "I could've sworn I saw someone doing a tutorial on how to do it not too long ago… But my nerves are too shot to remember who right now." Ivor gave him a suspicious look.

"We'll let you know if it comes back to you." Jesse gave Sparklez a smile and added in a wink. Liam looked over at Lukas, whose fists were clenching. Boy, _someone's_ jealous.

"Hello? Is everything alright in here- woah! What's with the crowd?" A new person asks, and Liam looked to the open door. There stood a girl with pink hair? _Must've been dyed or something like that._ Liam thought. "And you have a kid with you!" Liam then remembered that he was holding Nath.

"I was just about to gather everyone to tell them everything." Sparklez walked up next to her and gave her shoulder a little pat before moving on into the next room. The pink-haired lady looked back at Liam, and Petra noticed the look she was giving him and crossed her arms, getting a bit aggro.

"Hang on, it's you! I recognize you!" Pink Hair exclaimed, her eyes still intent on Liam.

"Uh, what?" Petra asks, looking back and forth between the two.

"I don't know or remember who you are if we've met before…" Liam grabbed Petra's wrist before she could go full-out mama wolf.

"No, not like that, I just-" Pink-Haired sighs in defeat. "Come on, I'll show you." She bade them into another room. The New Order send glances to one another before following her.

 **Heyyyy, look at that! Another chapter! Sorry it's so short. ;( It's even wayyyy too short for my own comfort, but I had to end it right there.**

 **Some of you wanted more Lukesse, and, as I'm going to be in Episode 6 now, it's a lot easier to give them the Luketra moments. Of course, I'm going to leave some of those moments alone. It's just a little preparation for when they become in-laws. ;)**

 **Predict in the reviews what you think will happen next, and I will see YOU, in the next chapter.**

 **CIAOOOOOOO!**


	17. Episode 6: Chapter 16

**Short note; I changed the rating to T because of what happens in this chapter... It's noting totally serious. Just, er, don't try it until you've committed, alright?**

"Oh, hi! Did you see all these new-" A redhead began, and she gave Lizzie a look as she realized who was behind her. "Oh, you've got them with you." She added, turning and walking alongside Pink Hair. A small calico cat walked by her ankles. Liam smiles, remembering Lupin from home. Jesse gasped as soon as she looked up. Liam raised an eyebrow, before noticing the portraits on the walls. There was one with him. He was smirking, arms crossed, leaning against a wall, and his eyes were more looking over at Petra rather than towards whoever the hell painted these so fast. Better not be his mother. That would be kinda creepy, really. "Well, first, it was just the portraits of the people already here and then, poof, you guys." RedHead pointed out to then, and Liam got a suspicious feeling, but he shook it off. Then again, though, she _was_ the only one there when they arrived into that room.

"Woah, that's… unexpected…" Jesse spoke, trailing off as Liam noticed there was also one for Nath. His was a little zoomed out; he was standing a few blocks from a cauldron and he controlled the water within, making it swirl all around himself. He still had the leg brace, of course. Speaking of which…

"Hey, pink-hair." Liam called, making his way across the room.

"Yeah?" Pink Hair raises an eyebrow, turning from Redhead to face him.

"Normally, I would be a bit surprised that you have a kid with you, but I saw the new portraits before I saw you, so…" _Hmm… RedHead is quite suspicious indeed…_

"I just need to know where we're all meeting up, because I have to be in one spot to change his bandages."

"We should all be gathering in the dining room." Pink Hair pointed to a door, and Liam nods.

"Thanks!" he gave them a smile before walking through the double doors that led to the dining hall. He placed Nath on the table, before bending down on one knee and beginning to unwrap the bandage, removing the stick in the process.

"What are we going to do here?" Nath asks, looking down at Liam.

"We'll figure it out, that much I can promise you." was all Liam answered with.

"That redhead seemed a little suspicious- the one with the cat. Any thoughts on that?"

"She did seem suspicious indeed… But we can't go around, throwing accusations yet." Liam shook his head, as the doors open again to reveal his friends, new and old. "Can you stand?" he asks the kiddo.

"I can try." Nath nods, and Liam held his hand out. He took it, and bounced himself off of the table, landing on his good foot and carefully put weight on his bad. "It stings a little, but I think I'll be fine. Just need to, y'know, walk it off." Nath let go of Liam's hand and continued to test his leg as a person with blue hair walks by the two.

"Hey, you got a kid with you!" he gave Nath a grin, ruffling his hair. Liam noticed Nath's small smile as the other ruffled his hair. He hasn't smiled in a while- it was good to see it again. "Is he yours?" Blue Hair asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually-" Liam began, but another guy, with a cat hoodie, it seems to be, interrupted him.

"Woah, is this guy your kid? You two look nothing-"

"Dan, Stampy, lay off, please." Pink Hair stopped the whole conversation, and Liam took Nath, going to stand by Petra. Petra had a hand on her stomach, and Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?"

"Just one of those moments when you feel like throwing up and you kinda just have to hold your breath and swallow it down. I'm fine." Petra shook her head.

"You sure you're not sick?" Lukas asks, concerned. Ivor gave her a look, and so did Jesse.

"I told you guys, I'm fine." Petra reassured them both. "Let's get back into business."

"Okay, anyways-" Sparklez cleared his throat. "Let me introduce you all properly." He looked around to make sure he had everyone. "You already met Cassie Rose-" RedHead. "-and LDShadowLady."

"But my friends call me Lizzie." Pink Hair gave Liam a smile. Liam only smiled back.

"This is StacyPlays-" There was a brunette female in the room, wearing a striped shirt and jeans. He remembered noticing her, but he didn't exactly talk to her yet. "-StampyCat-" Sparklez continued, motioning to the boy with a cat hoodie. The one that was wayyy more straightforward than anyone else. Liam didn't really hate him or hold a dislike for him, he just need to get to know him a bit better, despite the fact that he was a wee bit rude earlier. "-And Dan 'The Diamond Minecart.'" Sparklez finished with introductions, motioning to the blue haired boy that had talked to him earlier.

"Wait, when did your hair change color? Wasn't it-" Petra began, but Sparklez stopped her from going any further, as he had more to say.

"It's funny…" Sparklez was now pacing in circles. "Before you showed up, we all knew each other here." Sparklez stopped, now looking at his group of friends. "The leader is Jesse, the brothers are Liam and Lukas, the mentor is Ivor, the kid is Nath, and the redhead is Petra."

"Wait, I'm gonna stop you there for a second, Sparklez." Stacy held a hand out. "Three questions for you newbies. Just a little about yourself." she looked to the newbies.

"Go ahead." Jesse shrugs.

"Which one's Liam and which one's Lukas?"

"Goggles and blue eyes is Lukas. I, gray-eyed, is Liam." Liam answered, and Lukas nodded.

"Twins?"

"No. He's older by four years, I think." Lukas answered her question this time.

"Alright, last one, is Nath yours and Petra's kid?" Stacy motioned to both Liam and Petra. Petra shook her head.

"No, he just took him in after his mother died."

"Sparklez, you said you had news. Is it good? Good news?" Dan asks, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow with a grin plastered on his face. _Oh boy, Dan better not have been good friends with TorqueDawg- Who am I kidding? TorqueDawg probably didn't have many friends for his stupid attitude._

"Ah, yeah, it's, um, bad news, I'm afraid." Sparklez ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "TorqueDawg… is dead." he finally announced. It wasn't all that chaotic, but it was more of the 'oh no' and 'woah, what' that went around. Until Stacy spoke up again.

"But TorqueDawg was so tough- There was nothing that could take him down! What happened?"

"Yeah.. What on earth is going on here, Sparklez?" Dan questioned. By now, it was obvious that Sparklez was the leader of this particular group of individuals. Jesse finally took control, stepping forward and taking out the tipped arrow in the process. She held it out to show the others.

"These are what got him."

"Tipped arrows?" Lizzie asks, quite confused.

"Does that mean someone's set a trap for TorqueDawg? That's nasty." Stacy crossed her arms, shaking her head. Dan slid into the nearest seat.

"I can't believe TorqueDawg's gone! Just like that!" he stressed, eyes down on the table.

"So…" Stacy trailed, looking over at Jesse and the rest of the Order. "What happened to his stuff?"

"Woah!" Cassie exclaimed, holding a hand out to Stacy. "How can you say that?" She asks, as Dan glared at Stacy for asking such a question.

"What? It's a valid question!" Stacy defended herself.

"Woah." Petra breathed, and Liam looked at her. She looked like she was gonna throw up with all this action. Jesse's eyes widened as she looked back at the redhead. Liam was distracted by Stampy coming towards the middle of them all.

"Come on, everyone, come on, don't be so greedy!" he tried to calm everyone down, glancing at Petra.

"I just want to know what happened, for curiosity's sake." Stacy sighs, Petra leaning against Liam's shoulder. Liam looked back down at her, as Jesse continued to answer.

"His stuff just disappeared. Went down this weird hole in the floor."

"Are we supposed to just take your word for that?" Stampy asks, crossing his arms as Lukas grabbed Petra's other arm to keep her balanced.

"Guys!" Sparklez spoke at last. "I saw it too- I was there! Jesse was just poking around in TorqueDawg's stuff until it got sucked into a hopper." It was silent for a few minutes.

"So, I'm looking at the situation…" Lukas began, "... and I'm trying to figure something out. Is this _just_ about TorqueDawg, or is there a bigger picture?" He asks the new group.

"Yeah… Why have our portraits?" Nath asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno guys, knowing TorqueDawg, this might just be about him-" Lizzie began, as Jesse paced in circles just like how Sparklez was earlier.

"Woah, am I smelling some beef here?" Liam crossed his arms. Petra had released her weight off of his shoulder.

"You think he deserved it, didn't you?" Jesse held a hand out to Liam to get him to stop talking before he got into a heated argument with her.

"Woah, that sounds pretty harsh, but… I dunno. Maybe?" The whole group, her friends included, glanced at each other, probably all thinking the same thing. Liam thought otherwise, though. _Well, she's admitting the fact that she didn't like TorqueDawg. Murderers usually don't admit something this big, so it most likely isn't her._ Lizzie had spoken once again, cutting Liam from his thoughts. "Well, someone invited us all here. Including TorqueDawg…" she started, but Dan stood from his seat abruptly.

"What if we're all in danger?" he asks. Now you can say it was chaos. But, very minor chaos. It appeared to be too much for Petra, as she had begun to sway.

"Liam…" she began, and Liam looked at her, just before she fainted, falling to the ground. Luckily, with that little warning she had given him, Liam had managed to wrap his arms around her before she took the full impact of the ground.

"Woah! Petra!" Jesse exclaimed, rushing to the redhead's other side.

"What happened?" Sparklez asks, standing behind Liam next to Nath.

"She fainted!" Lukas looked up at him, and Ivor pushed both Jesse and Lukas apart, as he kneeled next to Petra's side.

"Can someone get me some lambchops from the kitchen?" he asks the group and Dan and Stampy went together, both of them already leaving out the front.

"Is she okay?" Lizzie asks, as Ivor commanded Jesse to slide off Petra's helmet.

"She's fine, breathing normally and all." Ivor reassured.

"Is she sick?" Liam asks, still holding his girlfriend in his arms. Ivor ignored the questioned, and Ivor turned his attention to Nath instead.

"Kid, you can summon water out of midair, right?"

"I don't know, I can try-"

"Just small sprinkles at her face would help." Liam shifted a bit and Sparklez got out of his way so Nath could do his job.

"Oh my god- she better not be what I think she is!" Cassie exclaimed, but Sparklez shushed her. By then, Dan and Stampy had come back with 2 lampchops.

"This was all we could find!" Dan told them, looking down at Petra with worry. Nath couldn't get so much of a raindrop on Petra to help wake her up. When he tried harder, a jet stream blast of water came from his hands, splashing Petra in the face and making him fall back on his butt. Petra came to immediately, sitting up as she spat some water from her mouth. She wiped the excess water from her face.

"Nath-" she began, but stopped when she saw Liam's concerned face.

"Here, uh, we'll leave you to it." Sparklez grabbed Dan and Lizzie by the arms before pulling them away. The rest of his group followed him to the other side of the room.

"Petra, what's going on?" Jesse asks, as the redhead looked down.

"Jesse, can I please talk to Liam first? And, _just_ Liam?" she looked at her friends, as Nath gave her a worried look.

"Of course, yeah." Jesse nods, standing.

"Come on, Nath." Lukas helped up the kid, as Ivor followed the trio away, leaving Liam and Petra alone in the corner.

"Petra, what's going on?" Liam asks, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Liam… I-" Petra began, but her voice cracked at that moment and she cleared her throat.

" _I'm pregnant."_

 **BOOM.**

 **BABY BOMB!**

 **What's up with that, huh? Is she really pregnant, or is she just messing with Liam again, or is she just sick?**

 **How do you think Liam will react? Especially since this is before marriage?**

 **Any other predictions you have, leave them in the reviews below!**

 **And I will see YOU, in the next chapter-**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOO!**


	18. Episode 6: Chapter 17

" _What?"_

Liam was shocked. Surprised. Astonished. There's a whole list of how he felt at that moment. Petra sighs.

"I knew you'd react like this, that's why I didn't tell you- I didn't even know if you wanted a kid before marriage-"

"Wait, Petra." Liam stopped her, finally coming to his own senses. "Look, I, heh, actually would like to still have this kid, but I just have a few questions concerning it."

"Go ahead." Petra sighs, looking away.

"How long have you known?"

"I'm about two and a half months in, actually." Petra replied, looking down. "I've actually known before your birthday."

"So you weren't kidding that night."

"No, I just- I kinda chickened out, heh." Petra chuckles a little, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Who else knew?"

"Well, Jesse was the first to find out. She found me vomiting in the bathroom one morning and insisted I go talk to Dr. Evans about it. He announced I was pregnant. Ivor figured it out while we were in Sky City; I had to tell him eventually, he is the closest thing we have to a doctor now."

"How could I not have been able to recognize it…" Liam breathed, looking away from Petra.

"Liam, I decided not to tell you because I was afraid of your reaction."

"Petra, relax, alright?" Liam held a hand out to her. "I have one more question, actually. But it's real important."

"Go ahead." Petra nods.

"Will you marry me?"

Lukas stood by Jesse's side, Ivor a little behind them.

"I've been telling her to tell him forever." Jesse sighs in relief.

"Tell him what?" Lukas raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed.

"And he finds out instead, huh?" Ivor laughed, shaking his head.

"Except the hard way, you know?" Jesse kept her eyes on the couple.

"Jesse!" Lukas exclaimed, finally stopping her and Ivor's conversation. "What's going on?" he asks, looking back and forth between the two and Ivor sniggered.

"You tell him." Ivor looked at Jesse, his hands on his hips.

"You're gonna be an uncle." she deadpanned, a small grin on her face as she spoke. She looked over at Lukas.

"What?"

"World's Greatest Uncle, may I add." Jesse gave Lukas a smile. It was rather adorable.

"You're kidding." Lukas's jaw was legitimately hitting the ground.

"Nope."

"Wow. I'm gonna be an uncle. Wait til mom hears; she'll be crying tears of joy." Lukas smiles at the thought, leaning against the wall. "Not only has she been waiting a long time to tell him, but he's also been waiting a while to ask her." Jesse and Ivor were silent until Ivor got it, letting out a loud 'Oh!' and Jesse gasps.

"Oh my god, Lukas, _you're_ kidding." Jesse turned to him, jabbing a finger his way.

"Nope. He showed me the ring and all." Lukas grins.

"Wha-" Jesse sputtered, and Nath laughs.

"I had to give him a big splash of water to get him in his right senses. He was afraid Petra would say no-"

"Like how Petra was afraid Liam would reject wanting the baby. This keeps getting better and better!" Ivor exclaimed, laughing.

"Shut up, Ivor." Lukas muttered, rolling his eyes. He looked back over at the two, and found Petra's arms wound tightly around Liam's neck in a hug. Liam was hugging back, kissing her temple before helping her stand up.

"You do realize that it's gonna be you and Jesse soon, right?" Ivor whispered to Lukas, making him repeat his previous phrase.

"Shut up!"

"I ship it." Nath whispers.

"Guys, let's get back to business." Jesse suddenly became stern as Petra and Liam caught up.

"She's right. We probably don't have much time until the White Pumpkin attacks again." Liam nods, looking at Jesse. "So, what's the plan?"

"I say our first step is to gain everyone's trust. Talk to them." Jesse looked amongst the group.

"Yeah. Good luck with that." Petra spoke at last. The group sent glances to one another.

"Let's get investigating then." Lukas nodded at Jesse to allow her to lead the way.

Jesse asked Cassie Rose and CaptainSparklez a few questions to which Liam couldn't help but to overhear the answers. CaptainSparklez had to correct Cassie a few times, and Cassie was more 'I don't know' than anything else.

"Guys, is it just me or does Cassie seems a bit suspicious?" Liam asks, looking at the rest.

"So I'm not the only one? Good." Nath crossed his arms. "That hair is _definitely_ dyed-"

"What do you mean?" Lukas stopped the boy from going any further.

"She's more 'I don't know' than anything else." Liam reflected, crossing his arms while Jesse made her way back to them.

"Get anything out of them?" Petra asks the brunette, arms crossed and leaning against a wall.

"Other than concern for you, Petra, I found out that this group has a lot of secrets they're keeping from each other." Jesse put her hands on her waist.

"That's definitely something." Petra nods, and Jesse turned to go interrogate Dan and Lizzie. Liam sighs.

"This is going to be one long night, huh?" Nath looks up at him. Liam pat his shoulder.

"It sure will be, kiddo."

 **And that's another chapter for ya! Sorry if this seems short again.**

 **I'm trying my hardest to get more Lukesse in here, but with the plot going like this... It's become quite difficult.**

 **I might not update "Soul Of A Firepit" for a bit until I finish the Episode 6 in this story and the Midlogue I have in mind.**

 **Off to play Sims 4 though! (I have my own Liam and Petra on there. XD I plan to try to do a YouTube video soon, but I just can't do it.)**

 **Thank you all for reading this story so far, and I will see YOU, in the next chapter.**


	19. Episode 6: Chapter 18

"What'd you find out?" Petra asks Jesse as soon as she came back from asking Dan and Lizzie some questions.

"Well, it's all tangled up, but it seems like TorqueDawg claimed to have some sort of 'rare item'..." Jesse replied, looking amongst her own small group.

"Well, we all saw his inventory, right? There wasn't anything that screamed 'rare item.'" Liam pointed out, leaning against the windowsill.

"Seems like something's not really adding up here…" Jesse mused, tapping her chin.

"You'll figure it out, Jesse." Lukas gave her a pat on the shoulder with an encouraging smile. Jesse just smiles back before going to interrogate Stampy and Stacy. Liam gave his brother a knowing smirk, to which Lukas raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Dude, you have to ask her out."

"This again? Liam, I told you-"

"That you're scared, yeah yeah. But you sure you want her to go off with another guy?"

"She's been waiting for a very long time, Lukas." Petra piped up. "You gotta ask her before she gives in and moves on to someone else." Lukas just sighs in defeat.

"Fine. I'll ask her. But not right now, given our current situation." Lukas motioned around himself to explain the 'current situation' he was talking about.

"If I can tell Liam I'm pregnant and Liam can propose to me in 'this current situation,' then I think you can ask her to be your girlfriend." Petra laughs a little, shaking her head at her future brother-in-law.

"Shush!" Lukas waved an arm at them just as Jesse arrived back.

"So, apparently, TorqueDawg was a well-known thief." she said, scratching her cheek.

"A thief, huh? That might have something to do with it, huh?" Lukas raised an eyebrow.

"I agree." Jesse nods, before turning away from them, going into full-out thinking mode. "So, TorqueDawg was a thief, and he supposedly had something rare."

"But you still don't know what this rare item is?" Nath asks.

"You got it, kid. That's the missing piece. No one will tell me what it is."

"I, uh… I think I can shed some light on that situation." CaptainSparklez approached the group.

"Well, now my curiousity is piqued." Petra stepped forward.

"She already had me at 'rare item.'" Ivor jabbed his thumb at Jesse, earning a hard nudge to the ribs in return.

"At least someone's gonna be direct." Jesse sighs in relief. "Thanks, Sparklez."

"Alright, so there's a temple, yeah?" Sparklez began, looking at them all. "Wayyy out in the middle of nowhere. No one knows who built it or why, but it's been there forever."

"Why does this sound familiar?" Liam whispered to Petra, who shrugged. Sparklez ignored the blond's comment and continued on. Ivor crossed his arms, shushing them.

"People have been trying to track down the temple's location for ages because they want this treasure that's supposedly hidden deep in it's basement." Sparklez continued, and the group sent glances to one another. _Oh boy…_ Liam thought. "Now, the rare item- it looks just like any ordinary flint and steel, but it's got an enchantment on it-"

"-that can open up portals to other worlds?" Jesse finished, confirming the suspicions that floated around. She crossed her arms. Great. Lots and lots of mumbo jumbo. More to untangle in this mystery. At least they got their key component as to why this is all happening.

"Exactly- wait, what? You already know about the enchanted flint and steel?" Sparklez looked at Jesse in surprise. Why would she need an explanation then? "How? Did you see it? You know where it is?" Jesse glanced at the others, before leaning in a bit.

"I have one of my own, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just used it a little while ago to get here-" Jesse began to pull out the glowing blue flint and steel that she had discovered only a few days ago, but Sparklez stopped her.

"Oh, jeez, put that away!" he hissed, stepping forward to use his body to hide the flint and steel from the sight of his friends. "You can't just pull that out here!" he warned, glancing back at- Oh boy. He knew something. Liam knew he knew something. Jesse quickly stashed the flint and steel in her pockets. "Wow. Okay, I had a little theory as to why we were all here, and I think this might just prove it." Sparklez turned around and began to walk to the head of the table where he was originally sitting. Jesse followed him, and Liam led Petra to a seat while Ivor and Lukas took their own. Liam just stood behind Petra's seat, massaging her shoulders as Sparklez gathered everyone up. "Everyone? Everyone!" Sparklez called out to the group.

"Hey, Petra, you're okay, right?" Lizzie asks Petra as they all gather, getting into a seat at the huge table. "I'm just a little worried, after you fainted."

"Yeah, we're fine." Petra nods, a hand going over her stomach unintentionally. Liam noticed Cassie's eyes widen as she looked down at the table. She must have had her own suspicions. Sparklez didn't recognize the little convo, and kept going on.

"Thanks for worrying, though." Liam chuckles, and Lukas made eye contact with Jesse. He sent her a smile.

"We've all been freaking out…" Sparklez began, gaining their attention. "... wondering why we've been brought here, why TorqueDawg died… and Jesse had uncovered a very important clue as to answer this questions." Behind him, Jesse rests her hands on her waist.

"What? Really?" Stampy asks, surprised. It was barely past midnight and this new gang just discovered a clue?

"Whoever killed TorqueDawg, whoever invited us… They're after the enchanted flint and steel-!" Sparklez began, but a sudden creaking stopped him as his chair threw him back.

"Sparklez!" Jesse exclaimed, trying to grab his hand to keep him from going down the hole that had suddenly appeared behind him.

Luckily, Nath still had his quick reflexes and summoned a blast of water to shot Sparklez out of the way of his supposed doom.

"Sparklez!" Nath exclaimed, going to help him when Winslow tripped him, making him stumble and fall into the hole. Liam's instincts took over and his eyes widen.

"Nath!" Liam shouted, just as sand fell into the hole. "Holy-"

"Panicpanicpanic-" Stampy's voice rang just as the lights cut off.

"What's happening?" Lizzie exclaimed, and Lukas grabbed ahold of Petra's arm to keep her from going anywhere as Liam grabbed Jesse, pulling her away from the hole and back into Ivor.

"Stampy, pull yourself together!" Dan exclaimed at his friend.

"Pamicpanicpanic-" Stampy continued like mad.

"I can't see!" It was Lizzie this time. Suddenly, the lights came back on. But instead of glowstone on the chandeliers like before, there were white jack-o-lanterns.

"Greetings, Adventurers…" Liam faced the source of the sound. Instead of a baby zombie riding a chicken, there was a person in a blue jumpsuit and a white pumpkin mask, holding up an enchanted diamond axe. Nothing like the enchanted pickaxe Jesse had crafted to defeat the Wither Storm, though. "I.. am the _White Pumpkin!_ "

 **AHHHHHHHH \**

 **NATH'S GONE**

 **SPARKLEZ AIN'T  
WHAT ELSE DO I GOT IN STORE FOR YA? **

**MOTHA  
TRUCKIN  
PLOT-TWIISSTTTTTSSSSSSSSS **

***SPINS IN OFFICE CHAIR***

 **MORE LUKESSE COMING RIGHT IN YOUR FACE**

 **MORE OF A SPARKLIAM BROMANCE COMING RIGHT IN YOUR FACE**

 **WHAT'S THE WHITE PUMPKIN GOT IN STORE FOR OUR PREGNANT PEETS?**

 **WHAT'S SPARKLEZ GONNA DO NOW THAT I CHANGED THE PLOT DRAMATICALLY**

 **FIND THE ANSWERS TO ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND SHIZZLE**

 **IN THE FUTURE CHAPTERS  
LIKE THE NEXT ONE, PER SE**

 **PREDICTIONS? COMMENTS? FEEDBACK? HATE?  
FIRE THEM RIGHT AT ME.**

 **AND I WILL SEE YOU, IN THE NEXT CHAPTER**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

 **wow, that was whacked up. sorry for being so hyped up. i have so much planned. :)**


	20. Episode 6: Chapter 19

"One of you has the treasure I desire, and I will not rest until it is mine!" Nath's items floated to the top of the ground, making Liam clench his fists in rage. "Even if I have to resort… to _murder._ " The lights flashed again, and the portrait disappeared, revealing the White Pumpkin himself.

"More panicking! More panicking!" Stampy exclaimed.

"'White Pumpkin?!'" Lizzie asks, confused. Liam did a quick roll call and quickly realized Cassie was gone. _What the-_

The lights flashed again, and the portrait was back.

"They killed Sparklez-" Dan exclaimed, eyes wide with panic as Liam suddenly remembered Sparklez.

"No, you doofus, they killed Nath! Nath saved my life!" Sparklez exclaimed, groaning as he sat up in the dim blue light. Jesse yanked herself from Liam's firm grip and went to help Sparklez.

"Why the hell would this White Pumpkin kill a kid?!" Liam asks, looking amongst them all.

"They didn't kill him, they were trying to kill me and got him instead!" Sparklez exclaimed, taking Jesse's hand and getting up.

"Woah!" Liam exclaimed as Stampy shoved past him, still on his panic spree and now running laps around the table. It was complete chaos.

"Hey, hang on! Hang on!" Lukas tried to calm everyone down after the fiasco, but it was no use.

"This is awful! Terrible!" Stacy trembled, as she backed away from the scene.

"There's no such thing as a 'white pumpkin!'" Dan declared.

"Tell that to the white pumpkins hanging all over the place!" Stampy shoved past Stacy and Dan. Sheesh, how is he _that_ fit? _Probably running on fear-drenaline right now._

"I saw him in the window!" Jesse exclaimed.

"What?"

"The White Pumpkin! I saw him in the window when we were trying to run for our lives!" A scream came from the main hall and Liam's eyes widened as began to run into the other room. It was Cassie.

"Quick! She must have tried to escape!" Lizzie exclaimed, and Stacy widened her eyes at her friend. Implied that the wrong way, girl. Jesse was the first out the door, and Liam followed.

Apparently, Cassie was trying to get out altogether. Luckily, Jesse was there.

"Shut the door!" she exclaimed, running up and shoving the redhead out of her way and looked out at the zombies outside. They were making their way to the door. There was never one safe place if a single door was open. Jesse quickly spotted the lever on the wall by the strong iron doors and flicked it, closing the doors and keeping the zombies out. After the whole fiasco was over, Jesse turned around to find Cassie cooing to her calico cat and holding her to her chest.

"So we're stuck in here." Cassie began, looking amongst them all. "And if we're stuck in here, we're doomed." Jesse turned around to find the rest of her friends behind her and her new friends just coming from the small hallway that met the dining room with the main hall. She noticed Liam looking up at the new X'ed portrait of Nath. He sighs, leaving into the kitchen while shaking his head. The brunette made eye contact with Petra, and Jesse gave her a look, glancing at the kitchen door as she did so. Petra nods.

"I was thinking the same thing." she commented, jogging past the others and into the kitchen. Sparklez sighs, holding his arm close to his chest. He was still sopping wet from being blasted with a jet stream of Nath's water.

"Poor guy. To lose a kid so close to him like that… I'm so sorry." Sparklez shook his head.

"Look, I don't want to say this in a way that makes it seem like I don't care that the kid died, but I'm gonna say it." Ivor began, his hands on his waist. "We need to focus more on who's trying to kill us all rather than who died. Because if we focus more on who died, then that just gives the killer time to take out the rest of us! So let's figure this out before we're all dead by dawn!"

"Well, he has a point." Stacy pointed at him.

"Yeah, he's not wrong. The more we mope, the less time we will have to figure this all out." Dan agreed.

"So let's figure this out." Jesse nods.

"So, Sparklez, you were saying something about the flint and steel." Stacy began, as they all began to get situated.

Lukas looked at Jesse who glanced at Sparklez. It wasn't supposed to be _them._ For the thing is, she had said yes already.

"Oh please don't bring that up again." Stampy looked at Stacy.

"Okay, but obviously, TorqueDawg didn't steal it." Lizzie pointed out. "And Nath didn't have it either."

"But _who_ then?" Stacy asks.

"Jesse." Lukas spoke up, gaining her attention. "I'm gonna see how Liam's faring." he motioned to the kitchens, standing up as he did so.

"Go ahead." she nodded, allowing him to go comfort his brother. His future sister-in-law probably needed a bit of help anyways. He knocked before opening the door to find Petra holding Liam in an embrace.

"Hey, how's he holding up?" Lukas asks with a little bit of hesitation.

"He thinks he won't be able to raise his own kid in six and a half months." Petra sighs, stroking Liam's hair as she spoke.

"Petra, I'll knock some sense into him. You go back out there with Jesse, alright?"

"You got it?" She asks, raising an eyebrow as Liam pulled away from her embrace and, staying silent, propped his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

"Yeah, I got it from here." Lukas nods, and Petra stood from her seat and left the brothers alone.

"Lukas, how am I gonna be able to raise a kid of my own if I can't even raise a kid?"

"Liam, you were doing just fine. Nath just tripped over something and fell. It was just wrong place, wrong time."

"Isa _trusted_ me with the kid, Lukas."

"And Nath trusted you too, Liam."

"And I broke both. Nath is gone, Lukas. I-I can't help but to feel as if it's all my fault. I could've stopped him from going to help Sparklez."

"It wasn't your fault, Liam. Stop blaming yourself-" At this, Liam suddenly got a flashback and zoned out from Lukas.

" _Stop blaming yourself for Fred's death, Liam!"_

" _It is my fault, Lukas!"_

" _There was nothing you could do to prevent it-"_

"Liam!" Lukas exclaimed, shaking his brother's shoulders and snapping him out of it.

"I'm sorry.." Liam shook his head. Lukas was still worried and he sighs. The younger of the two pulled the older into a hug, who gladly accepted it. Well, not exactly _gladly_ but you know what I mean.

"Come on, let's head back to the others." Liam pulled away from the much-needed embrace from his brother.

"Good idea. We're trying to figure it all out. Don't worry." Lukas went ahead and opened the door for the two brothers.

"We better find out what makes these traps tick." Jesse declared to Petra and Ivor as Lukas and Liam return. "Lukas, do you want to come with me back into the dining room? Petra said she, Liam, and Ivor will hold the fort out here."

"Sure. I'll help you out." Lukas nods, and Petra gave the blond a wink before he and Jesse left to the dining room. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Lukas sighs. "What's up with you and Sparklez, huh?"

"Nothing, really." Jesse shook her head. "Just bonding. Why, you jealous?" she snuck a smirk.

"Yes, actually. You're my girlfriend, I have a right to be even the slightest bit jealous when you're with another guy." Lukas turned to look at her, but she had grabbed the front collar of his armor and pulled him in for a short and sweet kiss.

"Lukas, I am yours and I will be yours for as long as we live. I love you." She spoke as soon as she pulled away moments later.

"I love you too…" Lukas breathed, before she released his armor and walked off to investigate. "But when will we tell the others?"

"When we can, alright? Right now isn't exactly the very best time." Jesse shook her head, walking around the long table before noticing a button. "Hey…"

 **And that concludes a rather short second chapter of today. No chappie tomorrow, sorry. Really have to get to work on a summer assignment for school. And I gotta jam in a jog in the morning before I get to work on the assignment. Possible chapter Friday, though! Busy on Thursday. FINALLY gonna go see Finding Dory! (I delayed my visit to the movies to allow all the older teens to see it first. :) They saw Finding Nemo first, so I thought it would be nicest if it went the same way with this one that they've been waiting for over a decade. (I think.)) Time for me to head to bed, though!**

 **But, your reaction to the jet stream of Lukesse at the end? Tell me about it!**

 **Any other predictions? Let me know about them in the reviews! I love to hear what you think will happen!**

 **Thank you all for reading, and I will see YOU, in the next chapter.**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOO!**


	21. Episode 6: Chapter 20

"Greetings, Adventurers… I… am the _White Pumpkin._ " echoed from the dining room and Liam's eyes widened.

"Lukas and Jesse are in there!" Petra exclaimed, yanking out her sword and sprinting to the double doors, Liam on her tail while pulling out his own sword. The remainder of the group followed, not wanting to split from these experienced individuals.

"One of you has the treasure I desire, and I will not rest until it is mine! Even if I have to resort… _to murder."_

"Jesse!" Petra practically flew through the doors, rushing up to her friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.

"He's back! The White Pumpkin's back!" Stampy fretted, eyes widening as he took a step back.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Jesse called out. "It's just a dummy A White Pumpkin costume on an armor stand." She pointed up to said dummy.

"What? Why?" Dan asks, as Liam walks forward to inspect the costume.

"The trap that Nath fell into, the whole show… it was all triggered by a button on the table."

"I didn't see a button." Liam turned around, looking at Jesse.

"But what does that mean?" Lizzie asks, and Liam mentally facepalmed. She is becoming more and more of a suspect here, yet he got the feeling she wasn't the one who was behind all this.

"I am so creeped out right now." Stacy admitted. No one could say it any better.

"Understandably!" Stampy confirmed.

"Wait, so, a button on the table, you say?" Sparklez asks, pushing past his friends to get to the front with Jesse. "Jeez, someone has to have real redstone skills to whip up something like that." He still held his arm to his chest.

"My thoughts exactly." Lukas motioned to Sparklez, and Jesse went on.

"The White Pumpkin sat at this very table and pushed the button." she declared.

"So the White Pumpkin-" Sparklez began, yet he was cut off by the usual panicked Stampy.

"Is one of us?!"

"That's right, you two." Jesse confirmed with a nod. "One of us… is a murderer." As if right on cue, thunder boomed and lightning flashed from outside.

"And he sat right here!" Ivor declared, kneeling down by a spot at the table.

"That's not where Jesse found the button before…" Lukas pointed out, as Liam took a lap around the table.

"I'm guessing you found this button?" Liam pointed to the one where he remembered Lukas sat down at.

"Yeah, that was the one we found. But wait, there's more than one?" Jesse asks, and looked at Lukas, who nodded.

"I'll find them all." He handed his brother an arrow from across the table. Liam sneezed once Winslow jumped up onto the table.

"Liam, are you okay?" Dan asks out of concern, after he sneezed two more times in twenty seconds.

"I'm allergic to cats and ocelots, Cassie." Liam stepped away from Winslow, while Cassie made her way around the table on to his side.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized quickly, taking Winslow away.

"It's worse with regular ocelots." Petra reassured, "Cats aren't totally a huge deal for him. Just keep it at a good distance away."

"It sounds like you're placing a restraining order on the cat." Sparklez joked a little, and Liam chuckles.

"Relax about the allergy thing, Peets. I'll be fine." Liam rubbed his girlfriend's back before stabbing the arrow into the table where the button was. He searched on for another one.

"Lukas, can I have another arrow?"

 **(I'm gonna say this right now; I totally forgot about the allergic to cats/ocelots thing until now, haha!)**

"Now, if you could all take the same seat you were in before…" Jesse trailed, pacing the table. Liam took his spot, just standing right behind Petra. He noticed Winslow giving him a little sneaky grin, making Liam do the 'I'm watching you.' motion to him. "Now, four of your seats are marked. Four of you could be the White Pumpkin. And the four who could be the White Pumpkin are Dan, Stampy, Lizzie, and Lukas." Liam's eyes widened as he looked at his brother. _No. No way in_ hell _would he be the White Pumpkin, going after the flint and steel when he could just ask Jesse._ Liam convinced himself and took a deep breath.

"Wait, you're accusing us?!" Lizzie exclaimed, sending Jesse a glare.

"I echo their sentence exactly! I didn't even _see_ a button." Stampy proclaimed.

"Me neither!"

"I'm not accusing anyone… yet." Jesse deadpanned, stopping between Petra and Lukas.

"I don't like this. No sir, I do not!" Stampy shook his head, crossing his arms.

"News flash, Stampy. None of us do." Sparklez sighs, fed up with all this. They were his friends, yes, but they can't calm it for a few minutes and let Jesse figure this whole thing out?

"I'm taking charge now, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Jesse vowed, continuing around the table until she got onto the side with Dan, Stampy, and Lizzie. "I want everyone separated." she began. "I'm going to talk to each suspect one by one, so I can find out who's telling the truth…" She made eye contact with Cassie, who fiddled with her sleeves. "...and who's lying." The brunette turned, going back down the line. She knew she was going to do Lukas last. ( ;) (Not like that tho.)) "I have a lot of questions, and I want nice matching little answers for each and every one of them. Understand me?" She stopped, in front of Lizzie, turning the other way and going back towards Cassie.

"Loud and clear." Stacy did a salute, and Stampy nodded.

"Yes. Crystal clear."

"So who are you going to interrogate first?" Petra asks, stepping up next to Jesse. Liam didn't stop her. If one of these three people were the White Pumpkin, they'd probably wouldn't try to kill Petra. Liam could only hope that this White Pumpkin, whoever they were, would still have at least a glimmer of good in them.

"Ladies first. Let's go Lizzie." Jesse led the way to the library, where she would interrogate everyone.

"Hey, Liam." Liam looked up at the sudden voice. It was Sparklez with Stampy and Dan.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"Thanks? For what?"

"Well, for Nath saving his life, of course!" Dan gave Liam a grin.

"Yeah, we figured that since he wasn't around, we should thank the next person closest to him." Stampy paused. "That sounded less harsher in my head…" he added.

"Well, the kid was raised right, that was for sure." Liam admitted.

"So you adopted him?"

"Not officially." Liam sighs, shaking his head. "I've had him for less than a day and- that happens." He leans forward, elbows on his knees propping his head up. "I'm supposed to have my own kid in less than seven months and-"

"Liam? Can I talk to you?" Cassie butted in, her 'sweet little' cat Winslow behind her. "In private?"

"Uh, sure." Liam nods, standing up.

"We'll talk to you when we get back." Sparklez gave Liam a smile.

"Of course." Liam chuckles a little, following Cassie back into the dining room. He held the door open for her to enter first and turned around, only to be met with the blunt end of a diamond axe before blacking out completely.

"Guys, the White Pumpkin got Liam!" Cassie exclaimed, running back into the main hall.

"What?!" Stampy asks, as Sparklez and Dan rush right past her. Before them, was a rather horrific sight.

"Holy shit."

 **Aha! There's the chapter, just as I had promised! Sorry if it seems short again… Most of my chapters seem short nowadays, huh?**

 **Next update? I have no clue, really.**

 **But I'd love to hear your predictions! What do you think they saw? What happened to Liam? How will Petra react?**

 **Thank you all for reading, and I will see YOU, in the next chapter!**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	22. Episode 6: Chapter 21

**Sorry about the slight lateness of this chapter! In all fairness, I did say that I didn't know when this chapter would be out in the previous one. I have been working on a few stories on my Wattpad account. This account is specifically for MCSM; on my Wattpad, you can find stories for other fandoms, like TWD, HP, TWDG, Human!FNAF, and so on. Hope you get to check that out when you have the chance!**

 **And, another few words…**

 **Wow. 15 thousand views on "A Wither Against The World." WOW. Of course, I'm still climbing the tree, but holy crap, that is a lot! "A Wither Against The World" is my most popular story** _ **by far.**_ **Thank you all so so much!**

 **In addition to that, this very story is halfway through 5 thousand and counting! 52 reviews here as well (probably mostly because I keep asking you for predictions (they're all awesome!)).**

 **Look, my point here is, thank you all so much! I didn't think this story would get as far as it did, and with you by my side and encouraging me to make more. I'm so happy for this story, and when it does come to a close… Well, I'd probably be crying my eyes out.**

 **But fear not! I won't stop after season 1. I'm going to continue on to season 2, to 3, to 4, and so on until they officially announce the end of it (which probably will be a never thing). But if it is a 'never' thing, then I'll keep doing whatever I can to contribute to the community. It's what I do, you know?**

 **But once again, thank you everyone! Those of you who stayed with me since the very beginning, those of you who had just begun to read… you're all awesome!**

 **Enough talking, let's get on with the chapter!**

There, hanging from the ceiling, was Liam. He was hanging upside-down, the lead tied around his feet and arms hanging over his head. His face was a sickly shade of purple, like he was poisoned.

"What the heck happened-" Lukas stopped at the horrific sight. "Oh my god-" he choked, tears immediately coming to his eyes as a hand came over his mouth. "This- This can't be happening, this is _not_ _real-_ " He stammered, falling to all fours. He ran his hands through his hair, before breaking out into sobs.

"Someone, get Jesse!" Sparklez demanded, kneeling down next to Lukas. Dan was busy comforting Cassie who had taken an arrow to the shoulder. Oddly, it wasn't one of those poison arrows.

"What is going on here?!" Ivor demanded, just now rushing in. His first sight was the shaking, sobbing Lukas being comforted by Sparklez (who was failing at the comforting part). His next sight made his eyes widen, and he kneeled next to Lukas slowly. Ivor was confused. Why would Lukas be sobbing like this? _Unless…_ Ivor's eyes slowly traveled upwards and he found Liam, hanging there. He gasps, kneeling down next to Lukas. Sparklez looked up to find Ivor there.

"You can take over, right? I-I'm gonna get him down from there." Sparklez stuttered out, glancing up at Liam before Ivor nods.

"Yes, just get him down from that blasted place-" Ivor began, but he was then cut off by the doors swinging open. Jesse stood behind Petra who was just taking in the scene.

"No…" Petra began, as Jesse rushed up next to Lukas. Ivor took that as a sign to switch spots and caught Petra before she fell to the ground. "No…" she repeated, not wanting to believe it. A shaky hand went to her stomach as Lizzie and Stacy enter the room.

"Petra…" Ivor sighs. He can't believe he was doing this… Ivor wrapped his arms around Liam's fiancee in a firm embrace. It was comforting. And it seemed like Petra didn't care that _Ivor_ was hugging her.

"I can't handle this-" Cassie hiccuped, "I'm going to the kitchen. I need some water to calm down." She rushed out, Winslow on her tail.

"Cassie, wait-" Sparklez began, holding Dan's sword to cut the lead, but almost immediately did a shaft open in the ceiling and Liam was reeled upwards until he disappeared forever.

"That was even worse than any other death that had happened." Jesse mumbles, stroking Lukas's hair. He had managed to calm down a little, but he still had tears streaming down his face. Jesse wiped away the tears with her thumb, stroking his hair while she was at it. Her other arm was around his shoulders, holding him close to her. She sighs.

"Whoever is the White Pumpkin…" Petra began, looking up from the floor. She was still in Ivor's embrace. "They're going to _pay."_ She growls, her hands clenching into fists.

After ten more minutes, the situation finally calmed down and everyone vowed not to speak of it until after this is all over.

Jesse continued to interrogate the others. Petra was left outside, replaced by Ivor in the interrogation room. She finished with Lizzie, then moved on to Dan, then Stampy, and finally, Lukas. Cassie was the one who had brought Lukas in. The man she had secretly been dating was silent.

"It's your buddy's turn next." Cassie spoke in the immense silence that had taken over them all. As soon as she left, Ivor stepped up next to Jesse.

"I can stand outside if you'd like me to." He whispered to her as Lukas went in front of the fire, just staring at it.

"No, you're fine." Jesse shook her head. "Just, ah, don't tell anyone till we both tell them."

"Wait, what?" Ivor asks, but Jesse ignored him, going over to where Lukas was.

"Lukas…" She began in a small, soft voice, and Ivor held his hands up, forgetting about the concept and going to entertain himself with some books. Jesse did technically ask for time alone with Lukas, but although she wanted him still in the room, he decided to just stay out of it until things get serious.

Jesse sighs, looking up at her boyfriend. She noticed Ivor was standing a little farther off, inspecting some books, which she found to be good. She tried to get his attention again.

"Lukas." she repeated. He didn't do so much as look at her. Instead, she had to stand in front of him, cupping his face so he looked right at her. "Lukas, please talk to me." she begged, stroking his cheek with a thumb.

"I don't know how to break it. I know Petra doesn't want to tell them." Lukas began, his eyes watering again but no tears came. He held them back. He had to be strong. "Mom, she's gonna be devastated. She was so happy, seeing her kids back together…" Lukas sighs, shaking his head. "And Jack, I mean, he was Liam's best friend! He's known Liam for as much as I knew him, probably more!" Lukas continued on in a little rant/ramble, and Jesse stopped him, her thumb pressing against his lips.

"You have to be strong, okay? Not just for this group, but for Liam. He wouldn't want you sitting around and moping, he'd much rather be seeing you keeping up, you know? I know Petra isn't in the best shape either, but I'll talk to her, too." Jesse spoke softly, pulling his forehead down to bump hers. "I mean, I lost Reuben only a mere year ago and see how I turned out." she recalled, and Lukas finally reacted, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a hug. His face went into the crook of her neck as she continued talking. "I mean, because of Reuben, we probably wouldn't be here right now. The Wither Storm could probably be starving to death. But because of Reuben, I got to have a little talk with Petra about you, and she actually convinced me to talk to you first."

"And without Liam, we wouldn't've been able to actually get together. Remember how I sang to you at Endercon: Part II?" Lukas asks, and Jesse nods.

"It's on repeat over and over. But keep going."

"Liam actually told me to do it. He advised me and all that. Well, if I'm honest, he was more encouraging me to do it. And I'm happy I did it." Lukas confessed, and Jesse just gave him a smile. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed his forehead.

"Come on, let's head back to the others. We don't need them to get suspicious now, do we?" She gave him a teasing grin, before exiting the room. Lukas and Ivor jogged to keep up. She pushed the double doors open.

"So? Have you decided?" Stacy asks almost immediately.

"Yes? Who do you think the White Pumpkin really is?" Stampy added straight after.

"Hey, hold up." Jesse held her hands out. "First, I'd like to thank you all for answering my questions. "Now, I don't know for sure who it is exactly, and sadly, my suspicions are all over the place. You all seem worthy to be the White Pumpkin, but at the same time, you're not."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Sparklez questioned, standing by a slightly-dazed Petra.

"Well, you could have worked together, or you could have had no part in it at all." Jesse explained simply. Sparklez nods, getting the idea.

"So should we keep all the suspects in one room until dawn?" Cassie asks, raising an eyebrow. **(Bad move there, Gommie…(Anyone else see why that's a bad move?))**

"Yes, I think we should. The library should do." Jesse nods. That would give her time to figure out who the White Pumpkin is, without any pestering. As soon as they were gone…

"If the White Pumpkin is still roaming around, though, they might still be trying to set up more traps." Petra stepped forward, crossing her arms. "We need to figure out how these things work." She turned around, facing her friends. "Like, we know that the buttons were the one that took care of Nath- supposedly Sparklez- but what triggered the one that got Torque Dawg?"

"Well, however the White Pumpkin got around to it, he must have done it in the kitchen."

"Seems like it'll be worth our while to poke around in the kitchen." Ivor looked at Jesse. He was hungry.

"You all go ahead. I'll stay here and keep an eye on these other people. See if I can get any more out of them." Lukas volunteered, staying behind as Petra, Ivor, and Jesse walked to the kitchen. "We don't need them trying anything." Lukas glanced back at the doors that had opened up to reveal Sparklez.

"Lukas, come on." he bade. "You're a suspect. We need you to stay with the others until Jesse figures this all out." Jesse was about to protest, but Lukas stepped in front of her, stopping her.

"I'll be in." He nods, and Sparklez held the door open for him. He turned back to his girlfriend. "Be careful. All of you."

"Holler if the White Pumpkin comes while we're gone."

"The same goes for you too."

 **AAAAAAAAAAAAAnd that's a wrap!**

 **What'd you think? I mean, now that Liam's gone, there's gonna be more Lukesse in here! Yayy!**

 **Any predictions? Leave em in the reviews! They're all awesome!**

 **And, on a little side note- softball season is officially ending Monday (July 17th, 2016 (I think.)) so that gives me more time to update and all that!**

 **It's almost midnight, and I finished this for you. Plz be proud. ; - ;**

 **Thank you all for reading this chapter and I will see YOU… in the next one…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	23. Episode 6: Chapter 22

Liam was falling.

Yep, you read that right.

Our big guy's alive!

He couldn't reach into his pockets for a fishing rod or something to stop himself from falling. He couldn't even see what was going on around him because he was blindfolded. But what he could do was allow himself to fall. I mean, if he couldn't reach his pockets, then he could be bound in lead.

Liam's body jerked to a stop in midair, and he dangled. Yep, he was bound in lead, attached to something above him.

"Liam?!" a boy's voice called, and Liam's eyes widened when he recognized who it was.

"Nath?"

"Yeah, I'm alive!" Liam heard, "The White Pumpkin saved me. Probably didn't have the heart to kill a kid."

"Well, you tripped, didn't you? So it's not technically your fault." Liam paused, remember he couldn't see with the blindfold on. "Are you blindfolded?" he asks, planning to go back to the topic at hand later.

"No, I managed to get it off. Try to use your knees to get it off. That's how I got mine off." Nath replied, and Liam could tell that he was trying to stretch out a little bit by the groaning sounds he made. "Man, I hate being bound and hanging in midair for this long…" he muttered, making Liam chuckle a little as he coiled, bringing his knees to his head and getting the blindfold off. There, swinging in front of him, was Nath. His red hair was mussled, his outfit torn, but the most important thing that he noticed was his breathing. He really was alive, after all this time. "How did you get killed? Or, well, 'killed.' If you didn't notice, I was trying to put air quotes there, but you can clearly see I can't-"

"No, I know what you meant-" Liam stopped, realizing he knew who the White Pumpkin was. He was with her before he was 'killed.' "It's Cassie." he said, his eyes widening.

"What? What about Cassie?"

"The White Pumpkin, it's Cassie Rose!" Liam exclaimed, looking around the area for a possible way out. They were stuck in a chamber, hanging from the ceiling. There was no floor, though. All that was below them was a deep crevice.

"I knew it! Her red hair was definitely suspicious!" Nath then noticed what he was doing and sighed. "There's no way out, Liam. He- well, she- She took all of our stuff, so we pretty much have no way of getting out. And this dang chamber, it's too deep, too far from the surface. We won't be able to do anything."

"So all we can do…" Liam took a deep breath. "Is wait." he declared, looking at Nath, who nodded. Liam sighs, shaking his head. "But why didn't Cassie kill me off? I mean, it's understandable that she didn't kill you off because you're a kid, but me?"

"Liam, did you seriously forget you were going to get married _and_ become a dad, both in probably less than seven months?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Cassie didn't want you to miss out on that! I mean, those are chances of a _lifetime._ People who want to get married and/or have kids, not everyone gets that wish when they want it, you know?" Nath explained, "I mean, Cassie probably didn't even get to experience either one of those things before becoming the White Pumpkin!" Liam took a few deep breaths. He got his head straight, before looking up at Nath.

"We're gonna bust out of here. I don't know how, I don't know when, but it's gonna happen. No one else will die at Cassie's hands." It's a little late to be saying that, Liam…

"Spiders! They're everywhere!" Jesse exclaimed, looking across the library. She, Petra, and Ivor had gone on a little adventure through the passageways that the White Pumpkin had apparently been using to get around. Dan and Stampy, the two who were in the room at the time (the others must have left to the main hall), pulled out their own golden swords. Jesse yanked out her own diamond sword and she saw the White Pumpkin in the portrait. Dangit, another choice. It was either to help fend off the spiders or expose the White Pumpkin. She decided that she could sacrifice a life and expose the White Pumpkin. _I'm so sorry._ The brunette jumped forward, hitting the painting with her sword.

"Why you little-!" The White Pumpkin began, but Dan's scream echoed, cutting him off. He was getting piled on by spiders, but Stampy got them off. Jesse paced forward, keeping an eye on the White Pumpkin while taking down some spiders. As soon as the final spiders were defeated, the White Pumpkin was nowhere to be found.

"He's gone!" Petra exclaimed, looking up at the portrait where the White Pumpkin was. Jesse was a bit confused. She just had her eye on him- how could he have disappeared so suddenly?

"For now." Jesse spoke, turning back to Dan. "Time to get to the bottom of this." She, Ivor, and Petra all closed in on the boy with blue hair while Stampy closed in as well. "I was watching you from the walls. We need to talk."

"Oh, nonononono." Dan shook his head. "You heard the part where I said it was an accident, that I was just curious? I'm innocent!" He pleaded, backing away from them. Little did he know he was slowly going back into the fire…

"Dan, you got a kid killed!" Petra exclaimed, "A _freaking_ kid!"

"Well, what can I do to make you believe me?" Dan asks, looking at Jesse. "I- I could go sit in the corner and not do anything for the rest of the night! No pushing buttons, no pulling switches, no nothing!" Jesse took a minute to think this over.

"Don't worry, Dan. I believe you." she declared.

"Oh, that's a relief. That's a huge relief." Dan sighs. He then realized something. "Hang on, I think I figured something out." Dan turned towards the fire and stepped towards it. "You were behind that portrait, right?"

"Yeah?"

"There was one just like it upstairs! Maybe the White Pumpkin-" Dan began, but then the lights went out suddenly. A grunt from Dan was heard. When the lights came back on, though, Dan was on his knees. He fell flat on his face and went up in a puff of smoke.

Another one dead.

Lukas was finally let into the library and he found Petra and Ivor pushing against a stone wall. The others followed him.

"Dan's dead!" Stampy exclaimed, looking at his own friends.

"What?" "How?"

"The White Pumpkin caught him!"

"Uh, Liam, I have a question…" Nath began, looking up at the blond.

"Go ahead." Liam shrugged. They have been waiting for over a few hours.

"Do you and Lukas have those weird telepathic moments? Like, when you sing a song at the same time or you feel something's wrong with another…?"

"There have been quite a few moments… Why do you ask?"

"Maybe you could try warning Lukas?" Nath asks. "I mean, it's worth a shot." As if right on cue, Liam got a headache. He felt like he had been bonked pretty hard…

"Okay, I can tell that something's wrong." Liam looked up to where he came down from.

"How so?"

"I have a headache, maybe Lukas was bonked or something?"

"Either that, or you're getting a little dizzy from hanging around. It's most likely the former, though. The latter only happens when you're hanging upside down." Nath explained, recalling when one of his mother's patients had come in with their twin sister. She had recently gotten a concussion, and the twin brother has had headaches ever since.

"Alright, well, maybe I can try it while I can… How do I, like, 'connect?'"

"Just think about this whole situation in general. Maybe that'll help?" Nath shrugged. "I wasn't in the room when my mom had a set of twins come in for the telepathy thing. I mean, I heard some stuff through the door, but other than that…" Nath shook his head. Liam hung his head, closing his eyes. He imagined himself hanging there first. He imagined being knocked out by Cassie Rose. He imagined Cassie Rose herself. He imagined Winslow.

"Why the hell am I thinking about a black beanie all of a sudden?"

 **OOOOOHHHHH MAAAAAAHHHHHH GAAAAAWWWWDDDD**

 **In my Google Docs, this story is Size 14, and it's taken 148 pages! That's long!**

 **Anyways, I'd actually like to say a few things…**

 **This story has been featured in Gamerwhogames's Google+ "Fanfiction Galore!" collection. I read the review, and wow, did it make me cry. I had an account on Quotev (Monkeys at Midnight) but I had to stop and delete everything, sadly. No one enjoyed my stories on Quotev as much as you all do on here and in my opinion, that is such a huge accomplishment in writing in general.**

 **Also, I'm actually beginning a YouTube account. For 15,000 views on "A Wither Against The World," I'll be doing a video Q and A! PM me all of your questions! And feel free to have more than one, if you'd like! It'll be like a Reading Your Comments type of thing. But please, nothing sexual or too personal.**

 **Anyways, how 'bout some of those predictions? Did Liam REALLY get through to Lukas all of a sudden? Or was it someone else he had gotten through to? What was your reaction to Liam and Nath being alive? I wish I had gotten the chance to save Dan, but I can't really save everyone. The story must go on the way it must!**

 **Sorry for such a short chapter, but t** **hank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU… in the next chapter…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	24. Episode 6: Chapter 23

" _Why the hell am I thinking about a black beanie all of a sudden?"_

Lukas was sitting in a dark closet. He was on the floor, leaning against the wall. He was coiled, hugging his knees to his chest to keep himself warm in this moist, chilly closet.

"What'd you say?" Ivor asks through the door.

"I was just thinking about who the White Pumpkin could be, and I suddenly think about a black beanie…" Lukas replied slowly, as he was thinking about why he was thinking about a _black beanie_ all of a sudden.

"Well, the only person who wears a beanie around here is Cassie Rose." Ivor sneered, leaning against the iron door that was shut and locked, robbing Lukas of his way out of there. Lukas looked up into the dim light, seeing Ivor's head. The pieces slowly came together, clicking when they found their neighbor.

"Ivor." Lukas began, standing up.

"What?"

"Ivor." Lukas repeated, getting to the door. "Open this door."

"I can't-"

"Ivor, the White Pumpkin is Cassie Rose! She left a few minutes ago, right? She could be killing off Lizzie and Stampy, and maybe even Jesse and Petra!"

"How do _you_ know, though? Do you have any proof in that blond brain of yours?"

"Hey! Not all blonds are dumb!" Lukas retorted, grabbing the doorknob and attempting to open it. Ivor stumbled forward a little, as he was the one leaning against the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Ivor, let me out, please, I'll tell you along the way-"

"No, tell me right now." Ivor protested, crossing his arms.

"Okay, so, when we first entered this whole place, we got to meet Sparklez and TorqueDawg, right? TorqueDawg died, and when we first entered the main hall, Cassie was the only one there, with her cat, Winslow. Who else could have gotten to change the portraits?"

"Lizzie?"

"No, her back was turned. And don't say Winslow."

"What about the one where Nath died?"

"Cassie ran out before anyone else."

"And Dan?"

"Well, she wasn't with us when we were locked out of the library." After this final piece of evidence, Ivor went silent, wondering whether to break the others' trust and let him go or leave him in there. He then realized the longer he took to get Lukas out and warn the others, the more time he was giving Cassie Rose to murder the others.

"Come on." Lukas looked up, spotting Ivor pulling out a lever. He placed on the wall and as if right on cue, Stampy came right around the corner.

"Do you two have Cassie Rose with you?" Stampy asks, panicked once again.

"No, she left minutes ago!" Ivor proclaimed, pulling the lever and setting Lukas free. "We figured it out." Ivor looked at Stampy.

"That Cassie is the White Pumpkin?" Stampy asks, as Lukas stepped out of the dark closet.

"No, that Winslow is the White Pumpkin. Of _course,_ that Cassie is the White Pumpkin!" Lukas gave Stampy a little push and Ivor a tug, as to get them moving. "Let's go!"

"No sign of Cassie, but- woah!" Stampy had been the one the lead the other two back, and apparently, Cassie was standing right there.

"Are you going to tell them? Or should I?" Jesse asks with a sneer. Lukas saw Petra with her hands balled into fists. He knew she was trying hard not to hurt and potentially kill Cassie.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cassie crossed her arms, and Lukas noticed the light level rising in the room. _It's almost morning!_

"Jesse, go on…" Lizzie trailed off, seeing what she was getting at.

"So Lukas _was_ right! The White Pumpkin _is_ Cassie Rose!" Ivor declared.

"Lukas, you figured it out?"

"Yeah, not too long ago." Lukas nods.

"But, Cassie Rose is the White Pumpkin?" Sparklez asks in disbelief. In all honesty, she was closer to him than anyone else.

"That can't be true… Right?" Lizzie asks with hope, but Jesse gave her a deadpan look.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that." Cassie crossed her arms. "I mean, look at the _facts._ We caught Lukas with a White Pumpkin mask on his head, right after Dan got taken out!" she protested. The redhead sighs, walking to a different spot in the room. "Plus, I think you're trying to protect your little _boyfriend_ over there." She motioned to Lukas, which made him raise an eyebrow. Petra glanced between Jesse and Lukas.

"And how would you know we're together?" Jesse asks, raising an eyebrow. Cassie hesitated.

"If she were travelling through her secret passageways when you two were alone." Ivor answered for her, and all eyes went right to Cassie Rose.

"Well, you're going to need more than that for evidence." Sparklez pointed out to Jesse.

"Well, something's been bothering me for a bit of a while. Something that happened in the Great Hall shortly after TorqueDawg was hit with that trap." Jesse began to pace in circles.

"What's that?" Cassie asks.

"Go on, Jesse. You got this." Lukas encouraged, and Cassie sent him a glare. "And, if you don't have enough, then I have some evidence of my own to back you up." he added, and if looks could kill, Lukas would be six feet under.

"You were the only one in the Great Hall when we got there. You were the only one with all the X'ed out portraits. You were the only one who didn't have an X'ed out portrait." Jesse kept on her.

"May I add, she was the first to leave the room when Nath died. She could have been replacing the portrait before opening the doors as a small trick…" Lukas spoke up.

"Those were good." Ivor grins, nodding at Petra with approval, who crossed her arms with a small, satisfied smirk.

"Is there more?" Sparklez asks, backing away from Cassie. He was done defending her, if he even did in the first place. Jesse nods, before pacing again.

"But it was the last piece of evidence, dear friends, that helped me really figure out who we're dealing with here." Jesse looked amongst the group, before motioning towards Winslow. "Cats. Dozens of calico cats. And they all looked just like Winslow."

"An amusing story, Jesse." Cassie looks to her, then stepped in front of Winslow. Lukas would admit- she looked incredibly pissed right now. "But if you saw all these supposed cats, just like mine, then what color is Winslow? Shouldn't be a problem if you saw-"

"Black, white, and orange." Nailed it, Jesse.

"That's my girl." Lukas grins.

"It still doesn't add up…" Stacy says, making Lukas's face fall a bit. **(See what I did there?)**

"I guess that means that the most likely candidate here is still Lukas." Cassie looked back at the blond, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Oh, hell no. No way in hell am I leaving here without him. I've already lost Nath, I've already lost Liam, I sure ain't losing Lukas either." Petra protested, stepping in front of him protectively. "So would you rather do this the easy way, or the way where I punch all of you?"

"Petra- Guys, come on, there's gotta be a better way to resolve this. I mean, where was Cassie when Liam died? Right with him. The White Pumpkin is going for _everyone,_ there's no way it could be one single person after another. And when she left, she was the only one in the Great Hall to be able to switch the portraits. During some, but mostly after every death." Lukas attempted to convince them, but it was no use.

"You know what, I'm starting to think you're all in on this." Stacy stepped forward, and it was the two going against one another now.

"Did you not hear what Lukas said? What will it take to convince you all that Cassie is the killer?!" Jesse proclaimed.

"No, no, we don't have to do this." Stampy came forward, putting his hands together in a little begging motion. "We don't have to do this." Stampy took a deep breath. "I have the enchanted flint and steel." he confessed, pulling the set from his inventory. Instead of glowing blue like Jesse's, it was glowing green. It seemed to set Cassie off.

"You had it?" Cassie pointed at Stampy, whose eyes widened. " _You?"_ She exclaimed, going towards him. Stampy quickly put it away, backing up in fear. Cassie began circling the group. "I've been stuck in this stupid world- with it's stupid two moons- for _years._ _Trapped!_ With a portal _right under my nose_ but no way to light it and leave."

"Wait, Jesse was right." Stacy began, making eye contact with Lizzie as she spoke.

"You were all so wrapped in your stupid drama… Really, a proposal in a murder house? Breaking it to the others that you have a girlfriend? That you're pregnant?" Cassie glared at each person.

"I don't believe it, Cassie, but at the same time, I do." Sparklez shook his head.

"Stop talking and someone grab her-" Jesse began, but she was cut off by the sound of a fist hitting a face.

"Man, that felt good." Petra rubbed her fist, looking down at Cassie who was out with blood trickling down her nose. Suddenly, the floor gave way and Cassie dropped through before sand dropped on her. Sparklez was the first to step forward and begin to dig.

"Another trap! Come on, we need to dig her out!" Stampy exclaimed, being the next. Lizzie joined in. Lukas looked around to find Winslow nearby a lever. That sly cat… The blond joined on helping dig up Cassie.

"After everyone she's hurt? She can dig herself out." Stacy stood to the side. As much as Petra would stand to the side with Stacy, she wouldn't let Cassie die. Yes, Cassie had been the reason her fiancee and his to-be adopted child were dead, but she didn't deserve to go eye for an eye.

"She did terrible things, but no one deserves it!" Lizzie argued, as Jesse joined her friends in digging Cassie out. But sadly, when they had finished, she wasn't there. All that remained were her items, which just floated.

"I can't believe it." Stampy spoke.

"She's gone." Sparklez sighs, shaking his head.

"What a way to go…" Ivor muttered.

"Yeah… I guess that in all the chaos, she forgot where her own traps were. Wow." Petra looked down at the pile. Her axe, the diamond axe she was supposed to have, it wasn't there.

"Why didn't she just simply _ask_ for the flint and steel? I mean, this could all have been avoided if she just _asked._ " Sparklez pointed out, looking down and away. Lukas gave him a pat on the back.

"Yes, we could have avoided this whole thing. Dan, Liam, Nath, and TorqueDawg, they would all still be alive." Stampy added on to Sparklez's point.

"Hey, it's morning." Jesse declared. In all the chaos, she seemed to have not noticed that the sun was, and still is, rising above the horizon. It's bright rays shone upon the zombies, setting them on fire and killing them once and for all. It gave the group of friends a way out. A way home.

Nath looked at Liam.

"Hey, Liam…"

"Yeah?"

"You think we will make it out of here?"

"Oh, yeah. Lead wears out, eventually. We just have to watch for it."

"Really? Because I'm so hungry, I could just starve to death hanging here."

"Yeah, well, don't. I'm gonna need you alive if I'm gonna be able to officially adopt you when we find our way home." Nath's ears perked and his head shot up to look at Liam.

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm Liam."

"Wait- I fell right into that one!" Nath exclaimed, as Liam laughs. His first ever dad joke… and it had to be a cliche. "Okay, but, seriously? You were going to adopt me?"

"I am, Nath. I mean, someone's gotta take care of you. I can't have you going off to an orphanage..."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Really, Nath. I'd love to have you as a kid of my own. And, a kid of Petra's, too."

"I thought you thought we were gonna die."

"Oh, hell no. No way am I gonna die without seeing my newborn, without adopting you, without marrying Petra… Just give me a year more, and the universe can do whatever it wants to me."

 **AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's a wrap for tonight!**

 **Normally, I would've been able to update over the weekend, but I had a softball tourney all weekend in a different state from where I live in, so naturally, the wifi was limited at the hotel we stayed in.**

 **But hey! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Here are some questions for you to ponder until the next chapter…**

 **1) Will Nath or Liam find a way out?**

 **2) Is Cassie really dead? (Come on, we all know the answer.)**

 **3) Will the others find Nath and Liam before the two find them?**

 **4) Which group?**

 **5) What do you think will happen in Episode 7?**

 **6) Are you as excited as I am for Episode 7?**

 **And I believe that is all I got for now…**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU… in the next chapter (which may be coming tomorrow)...**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	25. Episode 6: Chapter 24

**This is where it all ends for Episode 6! But there will be a chapter, maybe two, that acts as a midlogue. So….**

 **Let the chapter commence!**

Lukas, Ivor, Petra, and Jesse took the first steps outside. Lizzie, Stacy, Sparklez, and Stampy followed after the four. Ivor took a deep breath.

"Ah! I've never been so happy to smell rotting flesh." the Potion Master laughs, clearly satisfied that they were all out of the house at long last.

"Yeah, that is- yikes, that is pretty rank." Jesse added, and Lukas turned around to face her. She was looking to Petra, though, who was staring down at her stomach while holding it with a hand. Now that all the chaos was out of the way… Lukas could notice a small bump poking through the armor. Man… She'd have to raise the kid alone. Of course, Lukas and Jesse would help her.

"How many months so far?" Lukas asks, walking up to his late brother's fiancee. Jesse joined him at her side.

"Two and a half. Probably three." Petra shrugs, glancing up at him. "This is probably a lot to ask, but, well, I've been an orphan most of my life. I don't know how to raise a kid."

"And you want us to help?" Jesse asks for her, raising an eyebrow. Petra nodded hesitantly, hoping they would help, even though the kid wasn't theirs.

"Ah, nope. Not me. I've babysat a kid before, it did not go well." Ivor shook his head, making Lukas laugh a little. The blond turned back to Petra.

"Of course I'll help, Petra. I'm the kid's uncle, remember?" Lukas crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. Petra stepped forward and wrapped her arms around both Jesse and Lukas in a hug.

"I'm gonna miss Liam and Nath…" she sighs, shaking her head.

"We all will, Petra. Those two were awesome people." Sparklez grins.

"Well, while they lasted…" Stacy muttered. Lizzie nudged her friend, while Petra pulled away from her friends and they all went down the stairs to the sweet, sweet soil.

"I'm just glad we stopped Cassie." Jesse spoke. "She's got four good people; Liam, Nath, TorqueDawg, and Dan."

"Well, five, including herself. When she wasn't the White Pumpkin, she was a sister to me." Sparklez sighs, shaking his head. "Cassie was a great friend- I didn't expect her to turn out the way she did."

"But lucky for us- That portal brought you all here to help. If it weren't for you, we would probably be dead now." Lizzie spoke, visibly grateful.

"Yeah, I agree. Thanks." Stacy gave the group a small smile.

"But, speaking of portals… I have no idea how to begin finding our exit portal." Ivor spoke up, hands on his waist while he looked at Jesse.

"Well, Cassie said it was right under her nose, right?" Stampy asks, deciding to give a helping hand. Hey, they helped him in his time of need. He should give back.

"That's true." Jesse recalled to when Cassie broke after Stampy's (rather clever) decision to yank out the flint and steel to confess. "Maybe it's somewhere nearby…"

"Well, I'm just taking a wild guess, but is that it?" Sparklez pointed out into the distance where a golden skull portal stood.

"Well, what do you know, there it is!" Jesse laughs, as Lukas pat Sparklez's back. The morning dew got some of the friends' shoes wet, but they didn't care that their shoes were wet. All they cared was that they had made it out alive to carry on the memory of their friends who didn't.

Liam and Nath were still hanging around until they heard doors opening and closing, way far down the bottomless pit.

"Well, this tower looks weird. How long could it have been here?" a familiar voice questioned.

"I don't know- do you think it could be that temple?" a panicked voice exclaimed, half from fear and half from excitement.

"No, there would be puzzles. Like, extremely hard ones, not some little 'flip this lever' type of thing." Voices kept ringing out, echoing. Liam's eyes widened and he made the wide-eye contact with Nath before calling down to where the voices were.

"Sparklez?! Stampy?! You all down there?!" Liam shouted, his own voice echoing like a cold front on a warmer one. He grunted again, wiggling to get out of the bound that was restricting him. _If they got out… then that means my friends got out!_

"Woah, did you hear that?" This time, it was Lizzie who had spoke. Apparently, she thought they were still dead.

"That sounded like Liam." Stacy added, and Liam groaned.

"It is me-" Liam began, yet Stampy stopped him, as usual.

"But it can't be, Liam's-" Stampy began, but he was cut off by the sound of a lever clicking and lights flickering on. The lights were covered, but pistons, activated by the lever, moved the stone away to illuminate the tower. "-dead…" Stampy trailed, looking up to find Liam and Nath just hanging around.

"Think again, Cat!" Nath called, looking around the now illuminated tower. There was no place for them to land safely.

"What- How-" Sparklez began, but Lizzie asked the question for him.

"How are you two still alive? We saw you die!" Lizzie stepped foward a little.

"How 'bout we explain that after we get down from here with your help, huh?" Nath replied, wiggling again. Liam noticed the group of friends looking at one another before huddling up, making a plan. They took a few moments to brainstorm and a few more to assign roles to get their friends from the high place.

"Alright, go go go!" Sparklez declared, his voice echoing again and again. Stampy and Lizzie had gone outside while Stacy and Sparklez began to dig. It took a bit of a while, but the four eventually got a pool of water installed underneath where Nath and Liam were still dangling. CaptainSparklez used the dirt from digging the pool to make a tower, just barely enough to reach the duo.

"Sparklez, where are they?" Liam asks, "Are they okay? Did anyone else die? Did you catch the White Pumpkin?" The blond was unleashing a fury of questions right at him, making Sparklez give Nath a questioning look. The redhead only shrugged. Sparklez sighs, waiting for him to stop to let him down. Not like that. No.

"Don't worry, Liam. Your brother, girlfriend, unborn child, and two friends are all okay. They probably headed through the portal already. I hope you might be able to catch up to them before they jump somewhere else…" Sparklez reassured when Liam finally did stop. Liam sighs in relief.

"Thanks." he nods, looking down into the pool below. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Okay, just dive into the water feet first. Stampy's down there to free you from your binds." Sparklez answered, pulling out a sword that he had taken from the mansion.

"One at a time, right?" Liam asks, as Sparklez raised his sword.

"One at a time. Now stop asking questions. My ears are gonna fall off." Sparklez joked, making Liam do so much as chuckle. "On three, alright?" Liam nodded, looking back down at the small pond they had made. "One… Two… Three!" Sparklez swung the sword and it cut clean through the lead holding him up. Liam began to fall, watching as the small body of water came closer and closer before diving into it, feet first just as Sparklez had instructed. He was under for a few seconds, staying still so Stampy could cut the bonds completely. The blond felt his arms go free and then his hands, before being helped to the surface. Liam groaned, finally rolling onto sweet, sweet land with Lizzie and Stacy's help. His arms felt weak and so did his legs; they both fell asleep while he was being hung up there. He heard the splash of Nath's fall moments later and felt the small kid roll onto land next to him shortly after. Liam felt it was about time to get up, and he rolls onto his stomach, pushing himself up onto all fours until he finally could walk right. After hours for being strung up like a puppet, he lost almost all feeling in his legs, but they were back.

"Come on, Nath." he bade.

"I can't feel anything." Nath deadpanned.

"Do I gotta carry you again?"

"No, I just.. Need a minute. Maybe two." Nath mumbled out, before Liam sighs, kneeling down next to the kiddo. He hoped they wouldn't get real far. Nath slowly got onto all fours, holding his head. "Man, my head hurts…" he groaned, still on all fours.

"Is he alright?" Stampy asks, kneeling down on Nath's other side.

"Yeah, he's fine. Just a bit dizzy from hanging around." Liam answered with a nod.

"The others and I, we best be leaving now, though. We've got friends to go home to. They'd be wondering where we are." Sparklez jabbed his thumb at the door. Liam gave his friends a smile.

"Thank you. We wouldn't've made it out of here if it weren't for you."

"Well, thank Dan, actually. He said that he wanted to check this place out on the way home, but since he never got to, we decided to do it for him." Lizzie smiles, making Stampy frown a little.

"Stampy? Everything alright?" Liam questioned. He wasn't there a majority of the time...

"I stole the flint and steel from Dan. It was supposed to be a harmless little prank, but he's- he's gone because of it." Stampy confessed with a sigh.

"Well, travel the worlds for him, alright? You can always tell him all about them when you get home." Nath finally managed to stand on his two feet, wobbling a little, but keeping himself upright.

"Wise words. I suggest you take them, Stampy." Stacy chuckles at the tears in Sparklez's eyes. The words reached to him on a rather personal level.

"We all will." Lizzie gave Liam a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"The same goes for you all." Liam bade, leading Nath out with the others before the two began to part. "Oh!" He exclaimed. "Hold up!" he called out to the others, leaving Nath in his spot.

"Yeah?" Stampy raised an eyebrow as the group of four turn to look at him.

"This may be a little early, but I'm sure Petra would like it too, but- Would you guys like to come to the wedding?" He asks, and that just immediately brightened Sparklez up a little.

"Really?"

"Yeah. As soon as we get home, I'll come back to give you the invitations." Liam nods, looking across the group.

"You sure Petra wouldn't mind us coming?"

"I'm positive, Lizzie. I mean, you and Stacy helped her through it as a pregnant woman, right?"

"Well, a little bit, when Jesse or Lukas or Ivor weren't around." Stacy answered.

"Exactly. I'll see you real soon?"

"Bye!" Liam bade, turning around to run back to the house, and he gave a small grin down at Nath. "Come on, kid."

"That's Netherrack, Jesse! It stays on fire _forever!_ " Liam heard the White Pumpkin's voice boom. He knew that no one could see him or Nath from where they were. Petra, Lukas, and Ivor were bound in lead, unable to help in any way. Liam finally peeked around the corner, noticing a wall of fire separating Jesse and the White Pumpkin. "Well, Winslow." the White Pumpkin turned, and Liam jumped back and away. He made a motion to Nath to climb above while the White Pumpkin continued to talk. He knew it was Cassie, but the voice… Liam shook the thoughts from his head.

"Hey!" Jesse called with determination. She wasn't going down like this.

"What?"

"Don't you know?" Nath asks, surprising the group. The White Pumpkin looked around for the kiddo, who landed right in front of Jesse with a massive leap. He distinguished the fire easily before speaking his next words. "Hay is for horses." Nath smirked up at Jesse.

"Nath?!" Lukas asks, straining his neck to see the redhead.

"What the- How are you still alive?!" Ivor questioned.

"The same way Liam is!" Nath replied, and just like that, the White Pumpkin turned around to find Liam's fist in her face. It knocked her out easily.

"Ba-boom." Liam teabagged the unconscious White Pumpkin, before going over to free his friends. As soon as he got to Petra to free her first, he noticed the wide grin spread across her face.

"Y-Y-You're alive…" she breathed shakily, and Liam got the lead off of her. As soon as she was freed, she wrung her arms around his neck, burying her face into it's crook. "I-I-I…"

"Shh, Petra… It's alright, now…" he bade within a whisper, rubbing her back in circles.

"I thought I would have to raise a kid alone…" she mumbled into his ear, and Liam chuckles, pulling away a little. He kept his arms around her waist and his forehead on hers. Her hands resided on his shoulders while Nath released Ivor and Lukas from their own bonds.

"You would never be alone, Petra. I'm always going to come back, one way or another." He promised her, before Petra cupped his cheeks and yanked him in for a kiss. It lasted for a few seconds until Liam had to pull away, for there was a kid in the room. Speaking of which.. Liam looked around to find Nath and Lukas standing off to the side. He made eye contact with his brother, and stood, helping Petra up with him. Nath ran forward to give his soon-to-be adoptive mother a hug. Liam laughs a little at the kiddo, while making his way to his brother. "Hey, bud." he greeted, before Lukas jumped towards him in a hug.

"Don't scare me- don't scare _us_ like that again." Lukas spoke, shaking his head as Liam hugged his brother back.

"I can't promise that, but I can try." Liam laughs, before Lukas pulled away. Liam noticed the White Pumpkin stirring, coming to at last. Nath looked up at Liam from Petra's arms and raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead." Liam chuckles at the boy, and Nath went nearby Cassie, waiting til she stood to do what he had wanted. When she did make it onto her feet at last, Nath used his powers to blow her off of the platform and onto the smaller one above the Endermites that almost would've killed Ivor, Lukas, Jesse, Petra, and an unborn child.

"Serves her right, I say!" Ivor laughs, and Jesse came back with the blue flint and steel. Liam looked over the edge to find Cassie wriggling out of her mask. Winslow jumped up onto Nath's shoulder. Jesse turned around and led the way to the portal. Cassie shouted after them, but they just decided to ignore her and move on, try to find their way home.

"Wow. So she kept the _real_ portal hidden down here." Jesse spoke, as Petra took Liam's hand.

"Well, unless this one is a trap too." Liam added, making Petra giggle.

"I don't know if she'd be that paranoid." Lukas shook his head, resting his hand on his waist.

"There's only one way to find out, though." Jesse pulled out the flint and steel as she walked towards the portal. The brunette got down on one knee and lit the portal. A shockwave echoed across the room, and Liam could feel it's blast. Instead of the blue glow like with the Sky City portal, it gave a green glow.

"All good signs so far." Ivor declared, giving Jesse a grin and an approving nod. Nath picked up Winslow off of his shoulder and dropped the cat onto the ground.

"Yeah." Petra looked around. "No trick floors or arrows or anything." she added, still holding onto Liam's hand.

"Who's going first?" Lukas asks, looking at them all.

"Come on, Lukas, we're a team. We all go together." Jesse put away the flint and steel held a hand out to him. Lukas gladly took it.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

And they entered the portal all together.

Little did they know that Winslow liked Nath more than he had thought.

 **And that finishes off Episode 6! Gosh, that was a long one! What do you all think of the ending? Did I do good? Could I have done something to improve it? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **The midlogue is up next- there's a possibility that it will only be one chapter and rather short, but I plan to make you all get some of the feels. :) Right after that, we will be jumping into Episode 7.**

 **I'm having so much fun with this story! I hope you're all enjoying reading it!**

 **And, as a little side note, Lukas and Jesse have not yet OFFICIALLY announced it- they've given very obvious hints, though, but they never actually announced it.**

 **Any predictions for the midlogue, though? Let me know in the reviews what you think!**

 **Thank you all so much for enjoying this chapter, and I will see YOU… in the next one…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	26. Midlogue: Chapter 25

Once again did they all land in the Hall of Portals. Liam felt Petra's weight on him, and he could tell she was tired.

"Hey, Jesse. You think we can just stay here until we're all rested and ready to go?" Lukas asks, beating Liam to the question he wanted to ask. Jesse turned around and looked at Petra.

"Of course. We were all up through the night. We didn't even get any sleep when we came here after the Sky City ficaso." Jesse nods, and she looked around for a spot. The brunette pointed over to an area near the wall. "There. That should be good." she withdrew her arm, reaching into her pockets and tossing Lukas a pickaxe to dig a hole into the ground for them to place the Netherrack.

"Sleep sounds like a fantastic idea." Ivor grumbled, going to the area, and lying down on the cool stone ground. He was out almost immediately.

"I couldn't've said that any better." Lukas shook his head while yawning.

"We'll talk tomorrow." Jesse agreed, lying down after setting the fire with a normal set of flint and steel. Liam sat down next to where Petra relaxed against the wall. Liam could tell that she was already out. I mean, she's holding a kid in her now. Of course she would be tired after all that. Liam turned his hips towards her, lifting her body and placing her on his lap. Petra shifted, making herself comfortable by resting her head on his shoulder and her forehead into the crook of his neck.

"I love you." he whispered, kissing her forehead. Petra mumbled out some incoherent wording, but Liam could tell they were 'I love you too.' He smiles, taking her hand and giving it a comforting squeeze before looking around for Nath. He was lying down on his side when Liam noticed a calico cat strolling nearby. "Winslow?" he asks, and the small chaton ignored the blond. Liam didn't move, for he wanted Petra to rest comfortably. Winslow sniffled Nath, before going in circles and lying down in a small fetus position, pressed up against the redhead's stomach. The calico fell asleep, and Liam just smiles.

"Looks like Winslow likes Nath better than Cassie." Lukas pointed out from where he was lying down, Jesse cuddled into his chest. Liam couldn't help but to give a breathy laugh from seeing Lukas and Jesse cuddling.

"Looks like Lukas likes Jesse better than I thought." he teased in a whisper, giving his brother a wink. Lukas rolls his eyes.

And within a few more minutes, give or take, both boys fell asleep as well.

Nath was the first to awaken the next morning. He felt something pawing at his nose. Nath waved away whatever or whoever it was bothering him. When he tried to go back to sleep, he sighs, knowing it would be no use. When he opened his eyes, though, he didn't expect to see Winslow's green ones staring right back at him. He yelped, sitting up and scooting away from the cat.

"Winslow?!" he whisper-shouted. "Wh-what are you doing here?" he asks, as Winslow just gave no answer, sitting down and licking her paw. Nath sighs, going to pick her up. She snuggled into his arms, making him groan.

"You greedy dimwit."

Liam woke up to find Winslow purring as Nath pet her. She seemed to really like him. The blond managed to hold a sneeze in.

"Liam? Do you have a fish? Winslow's been bugging me since I woke up." Nath looked up at the blond, who nods.

"I think I snatched some from the kitchen back in the Two Moon World." Liam whispered, and managed to reach into his pocket to get a fish. He pulled out a few and handed them to Nath, who fed them to Winslow.

"Thanks, Dad-" Nath stopped almost immediately. "I-I'm sorry, Liam, I didn't mean to say that."

"It's alright, sorry. I'm Dad." Liam smirked, making Nath drop Winslow and Ivor begin to giggle from where he was.

"Oh my god." Nath muttered, facepalming. "Okay- I walked right into that one."

"That you did." Liam grins, laughing a little as he felt Petra shift in his arms.

When everyone was awake, Liam told them what had happened with him and Nath over breakfast, which was just some steak and lambchops.

"So, for a majority of the night, I guess you two were just hanging around?" Ivor punned, making Lukas and Liam laugh.

"Yeah, you can say that." Liam grins, while Jesse and Petra looked at each other. The two girls just roll their eyes at the men.

"Look, guys, I'd like to get back to business about getting home. Now, one of these portals definitely lead home. The problem is, which one?" Jesse stopped the boys, and Nath groans.

"Thank you!" he told the brunette. Now it was Jesse and Petra's turn to laugh.

"I'd actually like to propose a plan…" Liam began. "I was thinking we could take Petra back to the Sky World. I mean, we know where the portals are."

"No." Petra immediately opposed to Liam's plan.

"Petra, you have a _kid_ in you right now! I don't want you to be getting hurt, or worse. Sky World, where you have Isa and Milo and Reggie to look after you. You'll just be there until we know the portal to get home. Then I'll come back for you."

"When does he not, Petra?" Ivor motioned to Liam. "I agree with him." Petra's jaw dropped a little, and she looked around in hope for anyone on her side to keep her with them.

"I think Liam's got a good idea, Petra…" Jesse hesitantly spoke, before Lukas agreed.

"Yeah, it's probably best."

"I can go with you, Petra." Nath volunteered.

"No, Nath, you don't have to-"

"I am. You all saw what happened in this previous world? I died no less than an hour in." Nath convinced. Petra looks around to find all eyes on her.

"Please?" Liam pleaded, taking both of her hands while facing her. "For the kiddo?" He looked down at the slight bump. Petra held her breath, then released it in a sigh.

"Fine. I'll stay in the Sky City World until you find our way home." She stood, and Liam stood with her.

"You all can check out the other portals, decide which one we'll try next." Liam looked amongst the others. Lukas, Jesse, and Nath stood as well. The redheaded child still held Winslow.

"Until then?" Jesse asks, and Petra nods, pulling her good friend into a hug. Jesse pulled away, and Petra leaned in to Lukas to give him a hug.

"See you soon, Peets."

"That my nickname for her!" Liam playfully flicked Lukas's ear as he passed.

"See you all soon!" Nath called as the trio began to walk towards the Sky City portal near the end.

"Petra? Liam, Nath? What brings you all here?" A voice greeted them almost immediately. It was Isa, and Liam turned around to greet her when Milo came up behind her, grabbing her shoulders and going 'Boo!' Nath laughed at Isa's reaction which was turn around and sock Milo in the jaw.

"Wow." Petra breathed, looking at how much the community has grown.

"Looks good, huh? It's only been a full day since you were gone." Milo seemed to be bragging, but Liam let it slide, shaking his head.

"I stand by original statement. What brings you here?" Isa asks, petting the cat in Nath's arms.

"Well, Petra's pregnant." Liam began, and Milo whistled. Isa gave him a good whack on the chest to shut him up so Liam could go on. "And we were hoping you could watch over her until the others and I find the way home."

"Wise decision. And I'm assuming Nath is staying with her, as well as the cat?"

"Yes." Liam nodded.

"I didn't want to do this."

"Well, it's for the best, Petra." Milo agreed. Petra groaned.

"Look, babe, I'll come back for you. I always have." Liam promised to Petra, kneeling down at her bedside. He had spent the day getting her a house built with the necessities she needed. Nath had his own room with Winslow. Her armor was off, revealing the bump much easier. Petra's hand was stroking Liam's hair as he placed a hand on the bump.

"I think someone wants to say goodbye to their father before he leaves." she spoke, and Liam couldn't help but to grin, resting his forehead on her stomach lightly. When he leaned away, he glanced up at Petra, who was still stroking his hair, mostly his floof. Liam looked back down at the belly.

"Hey, kiddo." Liam began. "I know we're going to have to part in probably less than five minutes, but you're going to have your momma here with you, and your to-be older brother nearby. I think they'll be able to keep you company while I'm gone.

"But don't worry. I'll be back. I always come back. I mean, I came back from a place where everyone thought I died." Petra lightly whapped the back of his head, making Liam laugh a little.

"He didn't need to know that."

"You think it's going to be a he?"

"I feel like it will be." Petra chuckles, still stroking his hair. Liam took a deep breath, before looking down.

"Yeah… I think it'll be a boy too." Liam leaned up and kissed the stomach.

"Hey, I kinda hate to ruin the moment, but how far in are you?" Nath appeared at the door."

"Almost three months, why?"

"That would be about 12 weeks, so there is a chance that you could be able to hear the heartbeat." Nath pointed out. "I heard a woman's baby's heartbeat once when she visited my mom. There's a chance I could recognize the heartbeat, but I'm going to have to brush up on it with some books…" Nath turned and left, going to the library in hopes of a book that would help. Liam looked up at Petra.

"We can try." she shrugged, and Liam nods, standing up from his spot. He allowed her to pull up her blue shirt, just enough to reveal the bump. Liam took a shaky breath and leaned down, pressing his ear against the bump.

 _buh bum .. buh bum .. buh bum_

Liam's eyes widened as everything else in the world silenced out automatically. He was hearing his little boy or little girl's heartbeat.

 _buh bum .. buh bum .. buh bum_

He was _hearing_ it.

"Liam?" Petra asks, "Is everything all right?" She took his hand as he pulled away from the stomach.

"Yeah… everything's just fine, babe…"

 _Just…_

 _Fine._

 **And whoooh! That's all I got for midlogue! Did I make anyone cry? Probably not. *le shrug***

 **What do you all think of it? Did I do good?**

 **Now, don't worry! I will have Petra basically replace Liam in Episodes 7 and 8. But if their portal journey doesn't end there- do not fret! I will have an epilogue where they pay Petra and Nath a visit.**

 **Until the new episode comes out…**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU… in the next chapter…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	27. Episode 7: Chapter 26

**I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACK**

 **AND WITH A NEW CHAPTER!**

 **I'm so pumped! I hope you all saw Episode 7 and enjoyed it as much as I did!**

 **By the way- I messed up a little on something I said at the end of the chapter, in the author's note. LIAM will be the one replacing PETRA. I accidentally typed it the other way around. Just wanted to make that clear. :)**

 **We'll chat later on after the chapter ends- for now, enjoy the show!**

 **(Oh, this chapter SHOULD'VE been published Thursday. I must've only put it in my Docs Manager and never ACTUALLY published. Sorry about that!)**

It's been four months of portal hopping.

Yes, you read that right.

 _Four. Months._

And they didn't find their home world, sadly. Well, not yet anyways.

Liam, though, was getting stressed out. His fiancee would be giving birth in less than another three months, goddammit! The blond recalled on all the worlds and portals they had gone through and made it back in one piece.

"Watch out!" he called out to Ivor, while running into the portal. He heard the Leviathan blast a stream of water at them and tried to get out of the way quickly. He groans as he hit the ground with a small thud, lucky that he had a diving helmet on to be able to breathe while in the Underseas World. Because if he didn't, then he'd be kissing disgusting ground. Ivor wasn't any luckier- he had been blasted out of the portal and into another one. Jesse and Lukas took off their helmets, throwing them to the ground with a soft _clink_ and Liam got up, his own helmet still on his head. He groaned, as he watched Jesse enter the portal after Ivor, Lukas not that far behind.

"Not again!" he exclaimed, taking off his own helmet and running after his brother and friends.

The trio stood around, waiting for Jesse to arrive back from a portal that she declared she would go alone. Of course, Lukas became a worrywart almost immediately but he calmed when Jesse promised him that she wouldn't hurt herself. Yet, Jesse arrived back, running as she tried to pry a squid off of her head.

"Get it off! Get it off!" she exclaimed, before running into another portal. Liam facepalmed and Lukas snickered, while Ivor was the first to run after Jesse with a smile on his face at her antics. It was decided, right there, that they would all stick together during this adventure.

Liam followed Jesse through a green exit portal, before he got to his knees and attempted to wave the bats away. Out the corner of his eyes, he could see Jesse just sprinting down the hall and Lukas going in the other direction, while Ivor went in circles. All four of them were screaming.

Liam rubs his temple and sighs as he follows Jesse out the pink portal. He turned around to say something to Lukas when a posh man came out instead with his top hat and everything. Jesse walked up to him, turning him around and pushing him back into the portal. She reached around, trying to feel for the familiar cool armor of Lukas's arm. She pulled him back out once she got a grasp, and he stumbled back out.

"What just happened?!" Lukas exclaimed, while Liam threw his hands in the air, turning around and walking off to cool down. He heard Ivor laugh at Lukas.

"Why the hell are there a gazillion sheeps?" Liam asks Jesse, who was searching around for Ivor. Lukas pondered over it all, and Ivor popped up suddenly. Liam's questions just went unanswered as Jesse glared at Ivor, hands on her hips.

The blond followed Jesse up and out, through the portal. He didn't realize what was wrong before gravity took it's toll and he fell onto his side. Liam lied there for a moment, before pushing himself up. He wasn't going to give up.

Liam stomps through the portal, snow resting in his blond hair and on his shoulders. Behind him, he could hear Lukas shiver.

"Brr… Ice Lakes…" Lukas muttered, and Liam felt a snowball his the back of his head moments later. The snow trickled down his back and he turned around.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, and Lukas pointed at Ivor, who looked like he was contemplating whether he should run or not… Behind the two boys, Jesse came out with a laugh, before grabbing Liam's wrist and dragging him along behind her before he could do anything to the Potion Master.

"Watch out!" Liam exclaimed, before the TNT went off, blasting the four out of the Fire World portal.

"That was crazy!" Jesse began, as Liam wiped the soot off of his face, brushing the ashes off of his armor. He looked up at Jesse, who continued, "Why would there even _be_ a fire world?!" She sighs, then her eyes drifted over to Lukas to make sure he was okay. Liam followed her gaze and noticed Lukas spinning around in an attempt to catch an eye for the flames still on his butt. Jesse crouched down a little, and, well, er, smacked the flames off of the booty.

"Wow." Liam muttered, shaking his head as the flames went out. Once they did go out, he noticed Lukas pull out a book.

"I'll mark that one down as Fire World…" Lukas spoke as he took the quill and wrote down what he had to say about the world, while Liam crossed his arms.

"Wow." Liam repeated, rolling his eyes. "How'd you come up with that amazing name for the world that nearly blew us to bits and burnt us to ashes?"

"Did I miss something here, Liam?" Lukas asks, shutting his book and pocketing it.

"Yeah, what's up with you?" Jesse asks, a hand on her waist.

"You're seriously asking me what's _up_ with me? Look, I love all this portal hopping and adventuring, but I just want to find home! I mean, Petra's gotta be, what, 7 months in? Maybe _8_?" Liam sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, our world _obviously_ isn't the one with goddamn fire and netherrack!" Liam motioned to the portal they just came out of. "We gotta have some common sense here, honestly-"

"Liam, we're the Order of the Stone." Jesse stopped him from going any further. "We don't just give up!"

"I'm not giving up, I just think all this useless portal hopping is- useless!" Liam threw his hands in the air. "I know you love to have your peptalks and all, but they aren't bringing us any closer to home, are they?" Liam raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms. When he was met with silence, Jesse just looked around, hoping to end it here. She noticed flames arising from the powerful booty again.

"Lukas, you're on fire again!"

"You see, this is what I'm talking about- We go through a portal, get into a precarious situation, and manage to avoid dying long enough to get back here! It's a huge _loop_ we can't get out of!"

"Wash, rinse, repeat.." Ivor agreed. "Yes, it would be nice whoever made these would leave some sort of signs. Some guideposts, maybe."

"It's not like we have directions about how all this works!" Jesse exclaims, "So of course there's going to be trial and error-"

"And error and error and error and error!" Liam turned around, walking away.

"Liam, where are you going?" Ivor asks, as Lukas and Jesse hung back.

"There may not be any guideposts or so much of a map to tell us where to go or how to navigate these stupid portals…" Liam motioned to the red one he was walking towards. He heard Ivor, Jesse, and Lukas walk up behind him as he came to a stop, turning to face them. "So, this one is redstone. Redstone means smart people. At least, hopefully smart enough to help us find our way home!" Liam rested a hand on his waist. His wounds from moments before the Sky World had all healed, but they left nasty scars behind. Especially the one on his arm. Ew. "At least it's gotta be better than Fire World, honestly."

"Liam, I promise you- we _will_ find the portal home." Jesse encouraged, making eye contact with the older blond.

"That, or we will probably die trying." Liam ran a hand through his hair.

"So what are you saying here, huh?" Lukas finally spoke up against his brother. "That you've made up your mind? You're just going to go through this portal and that's it?"

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm tired of not us not being logical. Every. Single. Time."

"Woah…" Lukas backed out, not wanting to get beaten by his own brother. He decided to let Jesse handle it and put him straight.

"Yes… Woah." Ivor agreed, backing to where Lukas was.

"Well, someone has to choose which portal we go through. And that someone is me, because I am the leader!"

"Really? It seems like, to me, that you aren't being a very good leader." Liam crossed his arms and faced away, eyes meeting the ground.

"How do you suggest I improve, then?"

"For one- you gotta take in the facts! And, you gotta hear everyone's opinion on what to do, where to go…" Liam trailed, hoping she would get the idea.

"Well, I'm hearing your opinion. You think we should go into this world, then let's go-" Jesse stepped forward, but Lukas stopped her, stepping in between the two before things went from bad to worse.

"Woah, woah, woah! Everyone, let's just calm down!" Lukas stood in a position where it looked like he was guarding Jesse from Liam, his own brother. "I'm sure none of you meant any of that, right?" Lukas raised an eyebrow, glancing at Jesse but keeping his gaze focus on his brother. Jesse took a deep breath and released it in a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Liam." She looked over Lukas's shoulder at him. "I see what you meant by letting everyone voice their opinion before doing something instead of doing it all on my own."

"I accept the apology." Liam nods, and Lukas cautiously stepped out of Jesse's way.

"See? It's okay!" he looked between the two of them. "Friends being friendly. Eeeeeeeverybody being cool."

"Liam, if you really think that that's the next portal we should go through…" Jesse trailed, motioning to the redstone portal behind the blond.

"I do. I'm _positive_ that we'll find help for home." Liam nods.

"Then that's what we're going to do." Jesse nods, looking at Ivor and Lukas, to see if they oppose or not.

"Thanks, Jesse." Liam nods, before turning around and entering the portal.

The four land on their backs, in the middle of a Mesa biome.

"Well, _so much for that redstone hunch.._ " Liam facepalmed after taking a look around them.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly seeing any." Jesse agreed.

"Well, there's got to be some somewhere!" Ivor exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Liam sighs, running a hand through his hair as he looks around.

Welp, this is going to be one heck of an adventure.

 **Ahhhh. Look at that. One chapter for Episode 7.**

 **Who else is relieved that Episode 7 came out? I loved it!**

 **And, I'm going to be trying a little something new. It'll start in the next few chapters. Not the next one, but probably the one after that.**

 **More questions-**

 **Did you like how the argument went? I wanted to change it up for the sake of the story because I can't have Petra's lines be Liam's lines. They're two different people, y'know?**

 **What did you think of Lukas looking like he was going against his brother?**

 **Did I do good with this chapter?**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU, in the next chapter…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	28. Episode 7: Chapter 27

**Well, the last chapter was rather enjoyable. I hope you like this one just as much!**

 **Enjoy the show!**

"I feel like every world's gotta have redstone." Lukas said, pulling out his book. Liam had his hands on his waist, a sigh escaping his lips as he walks over and peeks over Lukas's shoulder.

"Your handwriting is horrendous. I can't even read it." Liam had to squint in order to read it a little.

"Gee, thanks for the compliment." Lukas rolls his eyes, flipping through the pages as he spoke. "Did you know that the messier someone's writing is, the more intelligent they are?"

"Yeah, I knew that." Liam laughs a little. "Embrace the crap writing, bro." He held his hand out for a fist bump. Lukas chuckles, fist-bumping his brother before going back to the task at hand.

"Now, let me see here…" Lukas trailed, skimming the pages of his book.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, Lukas… What _is_ that book for?"

"Oh!" Lukas blushed a little, having forgotten to tell his group about the book. "Well, it's just a little something I picked up back at the mansion, the White Pumpkin's place."

"Really? While I was dead, you decided to pick up a book?" Liam raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"Hey, you're in the Honorary Mentions section- I can always go back and take you out of the list-" The younger brother marked his original place with his thumb and began flipping to the front.

"No, wait, I take that back-"

"Can you two shut it and can we figure what's up with this place?!" Ivor exclaimed at the brothers, and said brothers glanced at each other. Liam just nods.

"Yeah, let's figure out this place."

"So, your book?" Jesse asks again, her arms now crossed. Lukas could tell she was a bit irritated by all the negativity going around.

"Ah, it's just about the different biomes and worlds and all that fancy stuff. It's more of a journal, though."

"That's actually a great idea." Jesse complimented, giving Lukas a little wink. The blond blushed, putting away his book while rubbing the back of his head.

"Thanks." he gave her a small smile. Liam frowned. The way those two acted, he knew they were together -how couldn't they be?- and it reminded him deeply of Petra.

Speaking of which, he wondering how she was doing…

Petra was lying on her side, resting on the bed set in the living. She usually felt comfier on her side than sitting upright. I mean, her belly's gotten quite large and it was also rather heavy. Nath knew the sex of the baby- he had it figure out with a little bit of light reading. But Petra had him keep it a secret. She wanted to be surprised. Plus- she didn't want to know when there wasn't Liam around to know, too. Petra sighs, a hand on her belly. Isa had lent her a larger shirt, and Petra scrapped her gloves, vest, original shirt, best, and the sleeve that she always wore on her left arm. They were put away in a chest by the armor stand that held her armor. Her shorts still fit- but they were close to giving away. It seemed like she had to loosen the belt every day.

"You just like to keep on growing, huh?" Petra teased the large bump, stroking it with her hand. She smiles when she felt a bump from her bump. The redhead smiles down at the bump, before hearing the door open. It was Milo.

"Ah, hey Petra. Isa told me to check up on you for her. Do you need anything?" The blond asks hesitantly, stepping into the room. Petra chuckles. She knew he never had anyone to care for, relationship-wise, so he wouldn't exactly have the experience. She couldn't blame him. It was usually Isa who helped Petra with this type of this. She had a friend who was pregnant and Isa took care of her the whole way through- the raven-haired Founder was never a mother herself, though, but she had enough experience.

After all, she is Nath's godmother.

Yet, Isa couldn't take care of a child. She'd be much too busy and wouldn't give him or her all the attention they needed without feeling unwanted. Yes, she's babysat Nath was he was only a toddler, but watching over a kid for a few hours while their mother is away is different than watching over one forever.

"Yeah, actually." Petra struggled a bit to sit up, and Milo rushed over, helping her up. He did so, and sat down next to her. "There should be some lambchops in that chest over there. You think you can put them in the furnace for me?" Petra pointed to a chest as she spoke.

"Ha, your favorite." Milo laughs, getting up and going to do as she said. While he leant against the wall, waiting for the lambchops to cook, he said, "Well, I visited Reggie at the prison today…"

"Uh, what did you do?"

"Me? I didn't do anything! Why'd you assume I did something?" Milo protests, crossing his arms in a pout. Petra laughs.

"I don't know! When something happens, it's usually because you started it!" she rebutted, motioning to him. Milo laughs, unable to think of anything to defend himself. "Anyways, go on." Petra nods.

"Reggie said that Aiden, Maya, and Gil all know that you're pregnant. They said they would like to help."

"This architecture is all fascinating. All sand and clay-based." Lukas looked around. "It's awesome." Liam smiles at his brother's amazement.

"Come on- where there are buildings, there must be people." Jesse began, looking around the small town. There were no houses- only what seemed to be huts with small balconies. All rather cozy homes, Liam would admit. "Let's find them and see what's going on here."

"And if it's something bad… We're going to help in any way we can, huh?" Liam crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at Jesse.

"Of course." Jesse nods.

"And maybe they know where the exit portal is, too?" Ivor asks, and Jesse began to lead the way ahead. Liam took notice of the redstone blocks nearby, and a grin appeared on his face. He ran over to said redstone blocks.

"Hey!" Liam jumped in excitement. "I _told_ you there would be redstone somewhere!" he grinned back at them. Lukas laughs at his brother's antics, just as Ivor stepped past him.

"Speaking of redstone, I'd like to investigate these… things on the back of the zombies' heads." Ivor mounted the stairs to a pen where six zombies were standing in a two times three array. Liam watches as his brother joined the intrigued Potion Master. Liam stood by the redstone blocks, arms crossed as he watched Ivor try to pry the redstone-centered button off of a zombie while Jesse and Lukas watched. Liam couldn't hear it from where he was, but he assumed Jesse was just telling Ivor to be careful before trying to pry the thing off. Suddenly, Ivor screamed, before falling to the ground.

"What a shocking conclusion coming from that…" Liam muttered, leaning against the red block.

"Wait, waitwaitwait." Petra was now lying down on her side again, Milo and Isa in wooden chairs nearby. "So, you really trust Aiden, Maya, and Gil to help take care of me?"

"I think we can give them a chance." Milo tried to convince.

"No." Petra shook her head. She wanted to be honest- she didn't want them around her kid. Aiden, the most she didn't want around in general. Maya and Gil… some reasoning could get those two to help. As if Isa were reading her mind…

"At least allow Maya? She's been begging to help. It's the least she can do with a broken wrist." Petra was silent as Isa began to put out other reasons.

"And I think Gil would be okay with watching over Nath while you sleep. I mean, Isa's told be about the sleepless nights that Lily had while Nath was a wee baby. You gotta be prepared for that." Milo attempted. Petra closed her eyes, thinking it over.

 _ **[Allow Maya And Gil To Help]**_

 _ **OR**_

 _ **[Keep Them In Their Cells]**_

 **This is pretty much the new thing I was talking about. I hope I have enough regulars to do this! It won't happen EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER, but I'll put this in when I can!**

 **What did you think about the chapter overall? How was the Lukas-Liam bromance at the beginning? What was your reaction to Isa being Nath's godmother? What do you think Petra should do? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **Now, a few things- I will be going on vacation starting Friday. The hotel I'm staying at MAY not have the very best wifi, but I will do what I can with what I have.**

 **Anywhoooo…**

 **Thank you all so much for reading this chapter, and I will see YOU, in the next one…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	29. Episode 7: Chapter 28

Petra sighs.

"Fine. Maya and Gil _only_. No Aiden." she caved in, making Isa and Milo smile.

"We would never let Aiden near you." Milo promised. "It's just going to be Maya and Gil." Petra looked down to her enlargened belly and closes her eyes.

"It's getting quite late out- you better get some rest. Maya and Gil will be in to help tomorrow." Isa stood up from her seat. Petra reopened her eyes and nodded, sitting up with Isa's help and standing. The redhead thanked the Founder as she walked her and Milo to the front door. Petra placed a dirt block in front of the door so no mobs would break in. She began her way to her room, when she noticed the door to Nath's room was still open. Petra raises an eyebrow and peeked inside, finding him by his bed and reading. Winslow was lying on his lap, purring softly as the to-be mother walked in.

"Hey, Nath, you alright?" Petra asks, making the younger boy look up. He was silent, before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why are you asking?" Nath questions, then, after realizing what he had said, quickly added, "Not that I mind, honestly."

"It seems like you're becoming more quieter and quieter every day. My best guess is that you miss Liam, too." Petra chuckles, sitting down on the bottom half of Nath's bed.

"I do, but I'm sure you miss him much more than I do." Nath joked.

"Not really, honestly." Petra shook her head, making Nath look up at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I don't miss him all that much, mainly because I know I'll see him again. But also because I have a part of him with me." Petra looks down at her belly, and Nath chuckles.

"I see." Nath nods, making Petra laugh. Her laughs were cut short when she groaned a little. Nath stood.

"Is something wrong? Do I need to get Isa?"

"No, everything's fine. The baby's kicking hurts a little." Petra leaned back a little, so the kicking was a little more visible.

"Is this the first time it's been hurting you when it's kicking?"

"Not really, no." Petra shook her head. "It's kicked and it's hurt before, but the pain doesn't last for more than a few minutes."

"Alright." Nath nods, taking that as something good. The kicking was visible on the belly. "Hey- I never saw it kicking." Nath looks down at the belly.

"Well, go ahead." Petra nods.

"'Go ahead' and what?" Nath raised an eyebrow.

"You can feel the kicking. Go on." Petra nodded again, as the kicking ensued. He gave her a grin and gently placed his hand on Petra's cool skin. The kicking kept going for a few more moments until it stopped. Nath withdrew his hand once he knew it was over. "Time for bed, bud. I know you like that story a lot, but you better get some rest. We've got some more helpers coming tomorrow." Petra stood up, allowing Nath to lie down. Winslow jumped up onto the bed.

"Really? Who?"

"Maya and Gil. Isa and Milo convinced me to let the two help- Gil's gonna be watching over you while Maya will be helping out around the place."

"Maya and Gil? As in, those two Blaze Rod sidekicks?"

"Yes- but we won't be having Aiden with us. No sir!" Petra shook her head.

"Oh." Nath looks away. "I thought they were imprisoned."

"They all still are- they're going to be helping out, though, not trying to kill us. Besides, I highly doubt they'll go that way."

"They won't try to kill us." Nath laughs. "Aiden was pushing them around, making them do stuff they didn't want to, so…" he trailed, hoping she'd get the idea.

"I see…" Petra nods, and the silence lingered for a minute before Petra rubbed Nath on the shoulder. "Anyways, have a good night's rest." She gave him a smile. Nath smiles back.

"Good night."

Meanwhile, back in this Redstone World, Liam was standing on a pyramid in the middle of a bunch of people acting weirdly. Jesse was unconscious on the ground nearby, and Lukas was trying to wake her up. Liam would help, but he was too busy looking around himself, trying to piece together what was going on entirely.

"What- what happened?" Jesse sprung up from her position on the ground. Lukas sighs in relief that she was up and okay.

"You went down. Hard." Ivor walked up behind Jesse, and Liam joined them, helping Jesse back onto her feet.

"Yeah. One punch from a chipped doofus and you were out." Liam finished for Ivor. Jesse looked up at the huge green screen in front of her, letting out a yelp as she backed into Lukas. Lukas put his hands on her shoulders.

"What _is_ that thing?" Jesse stammered out. Poor girl- this was all coming down on her like a waterfall.

"I have no idea." Liam shook his head, crossing his arms as he face the huge green screen in front of them. All that was shown was a circle. But the said circle blinked out, replaced by a face. Like, a stick face.

"You don't suppose it's friendly, do you?" Ivor asks, hope on his face.

"Well, considering one of it's… minions, knocked Jesse out with one punch, probably not." Liam shook his head.

"It's probably friendly… in an intimidating way…" Lukas tried, but Jesse cut him off.

"It _is_ smiling."

"In a rather creepy way." Liam pointed out. Suddenly, the screen began to _talk._ Like, say words.

"My apologies for the violent nature of this visit." The screen spoke, it's face changing from a smiley to a nauseatic one. "I am PAMA. Greetings." The faces continually changed from one to another.

"The hell~?" Liam drawled, giving PAMA a weird look.

"We have much work ahead of us, but maybe it can even be.. Fun." PAMA finished with a smiley face, before transitioning to a straight one.

"Sorry if this is a dumb question, but-" Jesse began. "Am I talking to PAMA right now? What is PAMA?"

"PAMA probably stands for Permanently A Macginn Ablot." Liam whispered to Lukas.

"Macginn? Ablot?" Lukas questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Macginn is clingy, ablot is majorly fat. Come on, look around. Clingy- needs a lot of people. Ablot- huge screens. Probably in more places than one." Liam explained, and Lukas sniggered. Luckily, PAMA didn't quite catch what the two were talking about.

"Some might call me a computer," PAMA began, answering Jesse's questions, "a 'thinking machine,' but there has never been a computer quite like me. My job is to be useful."

"I'm getting the feeling that she will use the word 'useful' a lot."

"Using redstone chips, I have connected to the people of this town and helped them be useful." Liam held his hand out like a 'What the heck.' symbol. "Coordinated. I have made their world is perfect." Liam looked down amongst the people. There were no children. No teenagers. Just adults and mobs.

"Uh, PAMA, why are there no kids?" Liam asks, stepping forward.

"Do you mean children?"

"What else?"

"The children were a waste of time and thoughts. They are not useful. They are distractions to the path of making this world perfect." Lukas's mouth formed into a perfect 'o' when he saw what PAMA meant.

"You don't mean…" Lukas began, shaking his head.

"Yes. They are rid from this world. Anyone under 18 is considered a child and were eliminated."

"Okay, that's just sick! I'll have you know, I have a kid of my own on the way-" Liam began towards PAMA, but Lukas grabbed his brother's arm.

"PAMA isn't worth it, Liam." Lukas told him in a low voice. "Not right now, at least." Liam looked back up at PAMA with a glare and retreated.

"I've seen what you did to this town, and it is _not_ perfect!" Jesse declared. "Far from it!" PAMA transitioned to a frowny face before the triple dots.

"Processing information…"

"Processing?" Lukas asks in a whisper as the group of four rounded up.

"It said it's a 'thinking machine.'" Ivor paused. "Maybe thinking takes time?"

"I have consulted my databases, my list of everyone and everything in this world, and my conclusion is that you are not from here." PAMA announced. "Despite what you told those nice, nice townspeople. I would like to ask you some questions to expand my databanks." The screen turned into a question mark. "How did you get here?"

"Oh, let's not talk about me. I'd much rather hear about you. How'd you get here?" Jesse asks.

"Answering a question with a question is unhelpful. Divisionary." PAMA seemed to glare down at them with the way her eyebrows were furrowed. "Rude." Liam scoffed. "So far, your performance in question-answering has been inadequate. This makes me sad. Now I must use alternative methods to retrieve my new information." Suddenly, someone grabbed Liam's arm, dragging him back.

"Hey, wait-!" Lukas began in protestation, but another chipped individual held him back. "You're not going to hurt my brother, are you?"

"The pain will last a few seconds." PAMA replied, making Lukas sigh in relief. "Then forever."

"No, no, wait, PAMA! I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just don't hurt him!" Jesse proclaimed, her hands also held behind her back. The person dragging Liam around stopped, but still held his hands behind his back.

It would be a lie to say Liam wasn't scared. He was scared out of his mind at the moment. First, he nearly died to save lives in Sky City. Next, he was almost dead in the White Pumpkin's place. Who's to say that the third time was the charm?

"I am looking forward to hearing this new information. Please, do not lie." PAMA spoke. Liam's eyes only narrowed. "This world has reached peak efficiency some time ago. Unfortunately, this meant I had no more job to do. No more things or people to help. Until you arrived, that is. Tell me, what is _your_ world like?" Once again, there was a question mark. "Is it like this one? Or completely different?"

"Well, it's a heck of a lot greener than this place!" Jesse answered, and Liam nodded. "Imagine grass and trees instead of sand and clay!"

"It sounds lovely. It really does. I think I would like to see this world for myself." Then PAMA began to process. "If I could send my townspeople, my friends, through to this other world, we could continue to expand and explore. It would be lovely. However you entered this world, there must also be an exit. Where is it?" The question mark came back after a bunch of faces. "You could help me make everyone, everywhere, more efficient. Help them become useful."

"PAMA, I can't tell you because I don't know! Honest!" Jesse tried. "After all, if we knew where it was, would we still be here?"

"Your logic is sound, and your tone in genuine, but the information is… not useful." Liam's eyes widened. "My job is to be useful. I have completed my job here and must be allowed to expand and continue to be useful. Unfortunately, our conversation has not been helpful."

"Let me go!" Lukas exclaimed, writhing in the iron grip of the civilians. Liam was yanked backwards and held in one spot. Four pillars rose from the ground, and the sticky pistons above Liam's head rose. Liam's eyes widened and made eye contact with Lukas. He was about to say something, but then, everything went red.

 **See what I did there? Instead of 'everything went black,' I said 'everything went red.'**

 **Anyways, the choice to allow Maya and Gil to help won by a large majority! I hope you liked the little mother-son moment, too! Review what you think will happen in the next chapter!**

 **Now, speaking of next chapters- it will not be out for quite some time, actually. I'm planning to move all my oneshots into one book. You'll find it on Wattpad first, then it'll be here. I'll eventually be deleting all the oneshots off of my account because they will be put into the book. Requesting will be available, but there's many of my own that I would be putting in there first. So I'm going to be doing that first before anything else.**

 **So yeah. No chapter until the week after next week. Sorry! :/**

 **But hey! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will see YOU… in the next one…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	30. Episode 7: Chapter 29

**I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!**

 **And with a new chapter! Whoo!**

 **The MCSM oneshots are already up on Wattpad, so go check 'em out if you can and read some of my other stories at ImSorryFather1100!**

 **One last thing- I'm going to attempt to go behind-the-scenes with Jesse. Like, the story will rotate around her until you determine the choice at the end of the story! *dun dun dunnn***

 **Anyways, let's begin! I hope you enjoy this (probably short) chapter!**

 _No._

 _No._ was the only word running through Jesse's mind as she watched as Liam suddenly became so stoic, so bland. The one thing she hated most about this was the fact that he had red eyes instead of the usual stormy gray.

"Welcome, Liam. Yayyy." PAMA spoke. Jesse looked over at Lukas, whose face had gone pale. Liam stepped forward a few steps, his blood red eyes baring into Jesse's chocolate brown. The minions that held her hands behind her back began to push her around so she could go after Lukas. "You may not have any information about how to exit this world, but your brain may prove to contain other useful items." Boy, how did Jesse want to crash the smile off of the screen. Liam's head blocked her view of Lukas's becoming a minion, and she was slightly relieved of that. Although, she was a lot more disappointed with the outcome. Ivor distracted her from her thoughts easily.

"Jesse, this situation is becoming a little more dire, don't you think?" he asks as Jesse attempted to wriggle out of the iron grip of the minions. She managed to get one hand free and turn around to face PAMA.

"Big mistake, PAMA, I'm not going down without a fight!" Jesse declared, pointing her finger up at the happy-smiley screen. She was forced forward, her hand back in it's iron grip as she turned from the screen and back to the machine that would meet her demise. Instead, she was met with both the brothers standing shoulder to shoulder. Both eyes were blood red, both expressions were stoic and bland… If there were going to die after they got the chips off… Oh, boy.

"Welcome, Lukas. Yayyy." PAMA spoke again. Lukas's eyes finally met Jesse, and Jesse was hoping and praying that he was fighting for ownership of his own body. And of course, the same went for Liam. "Your turn, Jesse."

"Get out of their heads!" Jesse continued protesting, as both the boys' hands grasped either one of their wrists.

"But their heads are full of so much lovely information. It makes me happy." PAMA proclaimed as both brothers forced Jesse to her spot in the machine. "What adventures you've had. A killer mansion…" PAMA trailed, and it's voice went off, replaced by the sound of three dots, going one after another. It repeated for a few moments, giving Jesse time to realize something.

"Every time PAMA gets new information, it seems to get distracted while it 'processes.'" Jesse whispered to Ivor, who stood nearby while she was going to get chipped.

"Yes! Like a computer version of 'thinking.'" Ivor agreed. "Do you think there's a way to distract PAMA long enough for us to make our escape?"

"... a city in the sky… Oh! I see that the older brother is soon to be married _and_ a father. 7, maybe 8 months through is his to-be wife? He has a lot of changes coming right at him. Too bad he will never see his fiancee nor child in this condition. For he is rather useful with his strength, his brains, and his fast reflexes."

"Jesse, don't worry about what it says- Liam will get to see his child and Petra again. We all will. We'll figure it out." Ivor assured the brunette, making her turn her head slightly, a plan coming to mind.

"Let's ask PAMA something that doesn't make sense." Jesse began. "Like, an unsolvable riddle."

"Oh…" Ivor began, trying to get what she was talking about. Once again, PAMA spoke.

"You've met so many people. Seen so many…." the computer trailed off, the emotionless voice being pushed back to Jesse's mind as she continued to explain to the confused Ivor.

"Yeah! We ask PAMA something really confusing, get it all busy busy, and make our escape!"

"Jesse, that's fantastic!" Ivor's eyebrows raised as he was impressed with Jesse's thinking. PAMA should be jealous. "What you're describing is a 'paradox,' a self-contradictory statement!" He proclaimed with a nod. "I think it would work on PAMA." he added in a lower voice.

"What do you think would work on me?" PAMA asks. Jesse was busy thinking of an escape plan with Ivor that she totally forgot PAMA could be listening in at any time with both Liam and Lukas under its control. Jesse and Ivor both gave each other a look that read 'we gon do dis.' I'd say worse, but I want to keep my swear word level lower than it is.

"Ahh, nothing?" Ivor questioned.

"It did not sound like nothing. It sounded like suspicious whispers. Those make me…" PAMA never had the chance to finish its sentence.

"Hey PAMA!" Jesse had caught her full attention as she stopped squirming, "What I'm saying is a lie!" she called out. PAMA had a nauseous face, then the three dots again, before an irritated face appeared.

"But if you are telling me a lie, then you are lying about lying, which means you are being truthful-" Question mark.

"It's working-!" Ivor singsonged, surely excited to get out of this blasted place to make a plan.

"Which means that when you say you are lying, it's the truth. Therefore, your statement is a lie-" Suddenly, smoke started to come from the four corners of the large screen. "Error: This data is contradictory. Does not not not not compute." Many different faces, one after another, appeared as PAMA began to crash. "Error. Diverting power." Then, as if PAMA shut down unexpectedly, yet rather expectedly, Liam and Lukas let go of Jesse while the minion who was holding onto Ivor let him go. Ivor did a little dance celebration, but they didn't have long.

"Yes! Haha! It worked!" Ivor declared.

"Nice work, new guys! But I'd get out of there fast if I were you- PAMA's a quicker learner than you think!" A new voice shouted out from the crowd. Jesse turned towards it to find the woman from before they were captured. Ivor and Jesse barely made it a few steps before PAMA reactivated.

"Paradox status: on hold." it spoke again, angry expression directed at Jesse and Ivor, but then it recognized the new person on the scene. "Gasp! My Creator! Have you finally agree to merge with me?"

"Oh, don't you start with that again!" the mysterious woman threw her hands in the air, before turning back towards Jesse and Ivor. "Come on, you two! This way!" she exclaimed at the two, motioning towards the way they came. She jumped off of the roof, landing safely.

"I'm sensing some history here…" Ivor grumbled, and Jesse glanced back at the smile on his face.

"Wait, did PAMA just say that she created it?"

"It does sound unbelievable, but I am certainly interested to learn more!" Why are you all standing there, then?

"It is time to join." both Liam and Lukas spoke in unison, back in action as they made their way towards Jesse and Ivor.

"I'm sorry, but they're beyond your help right now!" the same woman called up to them. "Come on, you gotta run!" Ivor and Jesse finally got the message, and they both began to run. Like they were superhuman, Liam and Lukas jumped from the top of the stairs to the bottom, easily catching up. They would've caught Jesse if she hadn't made a sharp turn, as Ivor took the lead. Ivor allowed the leader to pass him. The two dodged people and mobs alike, until they were trapped, on the edge.

"Nowhere left to run." Liam and Lukas speak in a monotone voice behind them.

"We'd never survive jumping!" Ivor exclaimed at Jesse, as the two retreated to the very edge.

"We would if we have these!" Jesse exclaims, pulling out the extra Ender Pearls she had from the White Pumpkin's mansion.

"Excellent, Jesse! Now we just need to throw them into their right spots…" Ivor held the pearl up, poised to throw wherever Jesse was throwing hers. She lunged it to the middle of the clearing, hoping that it would hit the ground before they were caught.

"Your running makes me sad." Lukas spoke, as he and his brother close in on the two, their hands out and ready to capture for their master. Not like they had a choice in the say. Jesse and Ivor kept stepping backwards until they were about to fall off the edge when their pearls finally hit the ground and transported them, making them disappear before the blond brothers could catch them.

Jesse and Ivor landed on the ground with a thump, red flashing for the two from the landing.

"Bluh." Jesse gagged. "Why is that so disorientating?" She groaned as she stood to her feet in the middle of the clay (misa? miso? Please let me know- I haven't played in a while.) biome.

"Ha! Maybe you've got a shot after all, new guys!" declared the mystery woman, who had stopped near them. "Better stick with me though!" She glanced behind her and began to take off another way. Jesse looked to where she was looking as Ivor spoke.

"Wow. She is amazing-" He turned to see her wide eyes, and followed them. "Oh no." he muttered. There were chipped mobs coming at them, and a lot of 'em at that! Jesse was the first to turn on her heel and sprint in the direction Mystery Woman was going. She glanced back only once, both to find Ivor and to make sure he was keeping up. She hoped they would outrun these possessed people and monsters.

Even as they were still running, it seemed like that the Chipped came from every direction, mostly monster. There wasn't really many Chipped people around, and Jesse knew there had to be more people in the world- she couldn't bear to imagine what PAMA had done to them as it did to the next generation. PAMA's not tearing this world apart. She already finished that part of her checklist.

Mystery Woman took a jump into what seemed like the entrance to a hollow cave. Jesse stopped right on time, but Ivor stumbled and fell in.

"A _signal_ would've been nice!" he hissed at Mystery Woman. She ignored him, looking up at Jesse, who still stood outside the hole.

"Gotta tell you guys, that was some pretty smart work distracting PAMA." she complimented, as Jesse glanced behind her to find the Chipped coming after them. The brunette joins her friend and Mystery Woman in the hole. "Now we just need to get off of the grid. Get back into hiding… that way, we can figure out what to do next."

"Some plan." Ivor rolled his eyes while crossing his arms.

"You made this… PAMA thing?" was the first thing that came out of Jesse's mouth.

"Ye- okay, yes. I was the one who built PAMA, but I swear this wasn't on purpose. It's out of control!" Mystery Woman sighs, looking away. "And, I need your help." she glanced back up at Jesse with hopeful eyes. She looked down at Ivor, who just rolled his eyes again. "We need to get to my secret lab." she told Jesse.

"Well, let's get there fast. These zombies aren't just stronger than I ever seen- they're also faster." Jesse nodded in agreement. Mystery Woman looked away in thought, before looking around the surface. The monsters were still searching for the trio.

"We'll need to split up." she looked at Jesse. "You head to the lab while I lead these mobs away, got it?" She stood up. "I'll take the back route, throw them off of our tail on the way."

"I don't really see any secret lab out here. All just desert." Jesse peeked around.

"Wouldn't be very secret if you did see it, would it?" She jumped out. "Just head that way-" Mystery Woman pointed in what seemed like northwest. The sun was setting just to Jesse's left, which helped her declare the direction. "-and look for the _big difference!_ You'll know it when you see it!" was the last thing Mystery Woman told them before she left, turning on her own heel and sprinting into the opposite direction she had pointed them to, her long cloak-coat flying out behind her. I know that's not the physics in Minecraft, but, well, gotta try to make it a _little_ more realistic, huh?

Jesse and Ivor were both now sprinting in the direction Mystery Woman had pointed them to. As they ran, Jesse thought it all over. There had to be _some_ weakness to the Chipped, and to PAMA overall. But at the moment… there seemed to be no solution coming to Jesse. Her eyes, concentrated ahead, noticed something a little out of the ordinary if she did so much as shift a little to the left or to the right. It wasn't something about her- it was the view ahead of her. She came to a stop at the difference and Ivor, not really noticing, tried to stop next to her. Much to his dismay, he stumbled and ran into what it was Jesse noticed 'out of the ordinary.' It was a painting, and the colors made it all blend in with the scenery behind it.

"So strange. It's like an exact copy." Ivor breathed, looking at the painting and the scenery behind it. "Or is it.. Seems a little off to me." he turned around as Jesse examined the painting.

"The 'big difference…" Jesse muttered, as Ivor gave a small squeak. PAMA's Chipped were coming closer- apparently Mystery Woman didn't lead them all away. Ivor kept an eye out behind them and Jesse noticed that there was a cactus with a bunch of dead bushes nearby. "That cactus isn't in the painting!" Jesse motioned to where the cactus would be before turning around to face Ivor. Her eyes went past him and spotted the monsters in a jog, going after them. "Time to see what it does." Jesse mumbled, opening the trapdoor and pulling a lever as Ivor urged her to quicken up a little. The ground shifted, and sand began to drop from the surface, giving two of the three remaining survivors a way into a secret lab.

"Hope you've got an idea for what comes next." Ivor told her, looking down into the huge hole.

"Working on it!" Jesse snapped, making Ivor shut up for once. It was a long drop, and they wouldn't survive just by jumping. _Plan B, Plan B, where are you when I need you…_ The brunette scanned their landing area and found a rather small pool of water. Jesse looked up at Ivor. She sighs, recalling the moment in the grinder back when they were getting Soren's F-Bomb.

"Jumping's easy. It's the landing that's hard." Jesse told herself.

"Tuck 'n roll." Ivor added, before Jesse leaped off of the edge, aligning herself with the water as Ivor jumped after her. They both dove into the (rather shallow) water, and jumped out quickly, hoping PAMA's Chipped Forces would retreat. Nearby, there was a huge tunnel. Above them, though… the Chipped seemed to believe they could fly. The only that happened when they hit the ground was disappear in a cloud of smoke and dust. "Looks like PAMA's throwing everything it's got at us. One after the other… such wastefulness."

"You'd think that since PAMA is controlling these things, they'd be a little smarter…" Jesse shook her head at the thought of the robot controlling not only these mobs, but her boyfriend and his brother. "But they're pretty much just splatting to their doom." Jesse and Ivor continued to watch the monsters splat and disappear, until one Chipped zombie landed on a spider's net. "And looks like they just figured it out." Jesse added, both she and Ivor backing away towards the tunnel. Why would one person need so much room to take refuge? "Brace yourself!" Jesse warned, before poising herself to kick the zombie back. She didn't realize she had kicked it into the water. It shook before the chip falls out of the back of it's head.

"Looks like something happened to it. It's eyes!" Ivor pointed out.

"That's because it's a normal zombie again!" Jesse watches as the zombie flailed about in the water, helpless in getting out.

"Never thought I'd be relieved to see a zombie." Ivor crossed his arms. Really? You were happy to see them die back at Cassie's mansion!

"Huh, the water must have busted the connection or something. Like washing away the redstone." Jesse added to their observations, backing away with Ivor as the zombie finally made it's way out of the water.

"Which means PAMA's control can be broken after all!" Ivor exclaimed as the brunette nearby pulled out her sword. She dodged an attack and, with two swift blows, killed the zombie.

"Once a zombie, always a zombie, I suppose." Ivor shrugs.

"So once we deactivate the brothers' chips, they'll go back to normal, too!"

"It seems like a fair assumption." Ivor shrugged, before the two looked back to the cobweb that had caught the zombie. There were more coming, landing on the same cobweb and going after them.

"Damn… they just keep on coming…" Jesse muttered, looking around for something that will block them off. Sure enough, a lever, one of Jesse's favorite items, was on the wall. "Hold them off, I'm going to see what this baby does!"

"Yes, ma'm!" Ivor saluted, getting out his sword and going to do his given job as Jesse ran to the lever. She flicked it quickly, and pistons released sand, creating a barrier between the two and the monsters. Jesse sighed in relief when the monsters were trapped off.

"That should do the trick. Now, let's go see about this secret lab."

"I just hope whatever's there will help us." Ivor added, turning around and beginning the to wherever the tunnel lead. Hopefully to the secret lab. "It will make helping Liam and Lukas a lot easier, if there is something useful at this secret lab." He gagged. "PAMA's completely ruined the word 'useful' for me now."

"I didn't actually know you cared so much." Jesse gave Ivor a small smile, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Ivor chuckled. "I must say, that woman has been a most intriguing person so far." Ivor said, making Jesse raise her eyebrows at him. "I'm still not entirely sure what to make of her." Jesse grins after this sentence.

" _Intriguing,_ huh?" Jesse began, making Ivor look like he's cursing over and over in his mind. "Ivor… Why whatever do you mean that?"

"I… What? It's nothing." Ivor stammered out, making Jesse laugh under her breath. "I just mean that I can emphasize when it comes to your creations getting out of hand. Nothing more, nothing less-"

"Careful with all that sputtering. You'll swallow your beard." A voice cleared up, and Jesse found the Mystery Woman waiting, against a wall.

"What did you hear, that was nothing!" Ivor exclaimed, rather embarrassed, while Jesse laughs a little.

"Uh huh." Yeah, she was _totally_ convinced. "Blond guys called you Jesse, right?" she asks the brunette while walking up to join the two.

"Yeah." Jesse nods. "And this is Ivor." she motioned to the Potion Master next to her. "Our friends who we left back there are Lukas and Liam."

"Twins?"

"No. Liam is older by four years. He's the blond without goggles." Jesse answered.

"And I'm assuming Liam's the guy who's getting married and becoming a father?"

"Yeah." Silence lingered after Jesse's answer. She broke the ice- "And you are?"

"Call me Harper." Mystery Woman finally introduced herself. "You could also explain why you led PAMA's forces straight to my lab!" She circled them, getting angrier and angrier. "Seems to me I've got a whole lot of angry computer-controlled monsters out there waiting to tear some new holes into my lab!" She sighs. "It's not my favorite."

"Hey, that's not fair, you were the one who told me to get us down here!" Jesse defended herself.

"Okay, okay, you're right." Harper shook her head at herself. "Sorry. I'm just a little steamed. I didn't know that PAMA would actually be able to follow us." Pause. "What are you doing in this world anyways? You here to try and steal my secrets?" She pointed accusingly at them as she backed away.

"What? No!" Jesse shook her head as Harper gave them a suspicious look. She saw that they weren't lying and relaxed.

"Just figured I'd ask. Better safe than sorry and all that." Harper turned around and began to lead the way back to her lab. "The bunch of you are actually the first people I've seen come out of the portal network in forever. So you'll have to excuse me if it makes me a little anxious."

"Wait, you know about the Hall of Portals?" Jesse asks, raising an eyebrow.

"The 'Hall Of Portals?' That's what you call it?" Harper asks with an amused grin, making Jesse smile.

"Yes. Maybe. What do you know about it anyways?" Ivor asks.

"A lot, I should think." Harper grins back at Ivor. "I helped build the dang thing."

"But then, that would make you.. An Old Builder." Jesse realized, her eyes widening and her eyebrows raising.

"Huh. Forgot you people called me that." Harper chuckles, as if remembering the past. "Never was my favorite name. Makes me sound like some sort of living statue."

"Okay, well, if you're an Old Builder, can't you do something to stop PAMA?" Jesse questioned, hoping she did.

"I'm afraid that's a little out of my abilities right now. PAMA's just too strong." Harper shook her head. "And besides- there's no exit portal to get back to the Hall from this world." Jesse's jaw dropped a little, glancing at Ivor.

"W-What? Why not?" Jesse asks after regaining herself.

"I destroyed it so PAMA couldn't get free." Harper answered, which made Jesse understand. If it were released on all the worlds… There would be _no_ next generation. Their generation, and that's it, unless some sort of miracle happened. "It was impulsive, but it was the only way-"

"To make sure PAMA didn't spread to other worlds. Yeah, I understand." Jesse nodded, repeating her thoughts, "If it were to go amongst other worlds… there would be no future."

"Exactly."

"Can't you build another portal, though?" Jesse asks, hopeful.

"You basic or something? I can't do that while PAMA's still up and running!"

"So, PAMA. What is it?"

"I swear I made PAMA with good intentions. It was designed to automate things. Make everything more efficient. Use monsters to help with farming or mining… Until the day PAMA decided that the townspeople weren't efficient enough already. Started making them 'useful' and-" Harper choked as her head carried her through the memories of what PAMA had done to the children and teenagers- to the future.

"You don't have to go any further." Jesse reassured, placing a hand on Harper's shoulder.

"Thanks." she nods, before there was another pause. "That was a long time ago. Since then, I've been trying to stay one step ahead- figure out how to stop it while some of the younger townspeople who made it past her little 'classifications' are still young."

"When we were back in town, PAMA seemed really interested in you. What was up with that?"

"When PAMA chips someone," Harper began explaining, "everything that person knows is absorbed into its database. If I got chipped, PAMA would know how to build an exit portal. So you can see why I'd want to stop that from happening at any cost."

"So what you're telling is that your brain is super dangerous and can't go anywhere near PAMA? How are you supposed to help us with any of this?"

"I do think I can help you. With PAMA, your friends, getting out of here…" Harper listed off. "But to do that, we're going to have to go to my lab." Jesse couldn't help but to smile.

"Well, what's in your lab that will help?"

"It's… complicated. To explain, that is." Harper shook her head as they turned another corner, and, instead of having to go through more of those needless, endless tunnels, they had arrived. "Before we head inside, we better get my defense system going. Don't want those chipped-up creeps following us in." She wanted over to a lever and pulled it, making a cauldron pop from the ground. "Grab my bucket for me?" she looked back at Jesse and Ivor. "Ron's got it." Harper pointed to a contraption with a creeper head.

"'Ron?'"

"No red hair… No hand-me-down robes… Can't be a Weasley." Ivor commented.

"Hello friend Harper! I am happy to see you, my friend!" the jukebox spoke. "No blond hair… No brand new robes… Can't be a Malfoy." it added in reply to Ivor.

"Don't blame me, I get lonely." Harper called, a smirk on her face as Ivor's jaw hung open. The dude was just owned by a machine! (absolutely100%unadulteratedSAVAGE) #rekt. Mom, get the camera! Jesse just shook her head and shrugged, chuckling a little as she glanced at Ivor's expression. "Shut your mouth, you'll get flies!" Harper laughs at Ivor as Jesse grabbed the bucket.

"Happy to help, friend!" Ron exclaimed as Jesse dragged Ivor back over to where Harper was.

"Thanks. See, I needed a way to confuse PAMA if she ever found a way down here. That's why all this is way more complicated than it needs to be." She explained, pouring the water into the cauldron. Waterfalls came from the ceiling, and a half of the entrance opened up. Jesse grins at Ivor as Harper walked away.

"Wow. What a builder." Ivor complimented as Jesse followed the older woman.

"Make sure you don't drool on my floor now."

"I'm starting to think you just like complicated machines." Jesse chuckles.

"Watch yourself there, newbie." Harper began, scooping up some water. "Don't know if you noticed, but water is PAMA's weakness."

"Yes, we had figured it out, actually." Ivor jumped in, joining the two ladies.

"Once PAMA caught on to it's weakness of water, it start eliminating as much of the world's water as it can." She began, "This water down here? It might be all that's left." A moment after she said that… an explosion shook the whole underground.

"Oh no!" Jesse exclaimed, panicking a little.

"I still need to activate the other cauldrons!" Harper exclaimed, eyes wide. "Hold them off to buy me more time!" Harper ran past the two, going to the next cauldron. "And whatever you do, don't get caught! I'm not about to get left alone again!" Jesse nodded, and she and Ivor go to the entrance. Just making their way around the corner were the blond brothers and some Chipped spiders.

"You could've made this much easier for yourself." Liam spoke in the monotone that Jesse knew was PAMA as the two got their swords out. "It is useless to defy us. You only delay the inevitable."

"Snap out of it, Liam!" Jesse exclaimed. "It's me, your brother's girlfriend!"

"There is no Liam. Only PAMA. And your boyfriend is gone."

"Don't do this, Liam, please!" Jesse begged as Lukas went after Ivor.

"I know all of your moves now, Jesse. Why even bother fighting?" he questioned, closing up on her. His blood red eyes bore into her, and Jesse felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to have to fight him. If she does so much as scratch him, Petra will give her an earful. No lie.

"Liam, please, you have to fight it!" Jesse exclaimed at him, and he swung his sword, casting a blow on her. She glanced over at Ivor who had a waterfall come down on him.

"Come on, Lukas, let's just talk this out." Ivor tried as soon as he was out of the fall.

"The time for talking is over." Liam and Lukas said in unison, not afraid to hurt their friends. A hiss was heard from behind Jesse, and she glanced back, finding a spider poised to jump. When it did, she just tossed it into a waterfall, breaking its connection with PAMA. With one blow, Jesse killed off the spider, which dropped nothing.

"Here goes another!" Harper exclaimed, and the sound of water falling filled through the chaos. Ivor was tossed on his front, near Jesse as Lukas sheathed his sword, approaching them.

"End of the line, Jesse." the younger of the blonds spoke. Jesse looked around for something to help them and remembered PAMA's only weakness- water. Liam took a turn around a fall, standing just in front of it, and Lukas walked up just in front of the fall. Jesse had to make her choice. It was now or never.

 _ **[Save Liam]**_

 _ **OR**_

 _ **[Save Lukas]**_

 **AHHHHHHHHHHHH.**

 **FRICKIN**

 **DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER!**

 **AND IT WAS LONGER THAN I THOUGHT- MUCH LONGER.**

 **Look, I know I haven't been around since vacation ended. It was fun, I'll tell you! But I'm not going to be around much anymore after that, honestly. There's school starting. I'm going to be a freshman in high school, which means I gotta be off to a good start. So there won't be a chapter for a few weeks, at least. A few months, at the most. Don't worry! I will be back eventually! (That's also why I gave you this long chapter- to leave something good behind until I'm back.)**

 **But until then… I hope you've enjoyed this story so far! I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and with the Season Finale coming soon in less than a month (can you believe it?), this story will be over. Wow. So much time has passed since I first started this story as any normal Google Doc before I began to post it on here. "A Wither Against The World" included. It was an amazing choice to post my stories here- I don't regret it.**

 **Don't forget to review your choice to the ending along with why you chose who you chose to save, what you think will happen in the next chapter, AND what you think will happen in Episode 8! I love hearing predictions!**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU, in the next chapter….**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	31. Episode 7: Chapter 30

**HELLO EVERYBODY I AM GOMMIE AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER OF "TAKE BACK THE WOOOOOOORLDS~!"**

 **(just thought I'd have an intro since I already have an outro)**

 **School is fantastic so far. Since it's pretty much the beginning of the year, there will be a few more chapters going up more quickly than others. This may come out a week later than where I started here and now, for example. Not in about a few days like I usually did over summer.**

 **If I leave suddenly, that means my grades have gone bad or softball's back. Ugh. (I actually have plans to quit so I can focus on writing! Yayyy!)**

 **Anyways, you're about to see who Jesse saved, from the last chapter! One brother came out on top with 10 votes and the other trailed with only 4. Some people didn't mention who they wanted to save, and that's totally fine! Silence is always an answer. :)**

 **I'll silence myself and allow the chapter to begin.**

Jesse looked back and forth between the two. She muttered out a few incoherent words, before leaping out towards Liam, pushing both herself and him into the waterfall behind him. As soon as they hit the ground, Jesse rolled off of him and stood, beginning to go after Lukas as Liam screamed out in pain, his body flashing a bright blue-white color as the chip popped off of the back of his head.

"Jesse, _that_ was _awful-_ " Liam began, sitting up. He attempted to stand to his feet, only to fall back down as Ivor called out Jesse's name.

"Jesse!" Jesse's attention went right to him and the potioneer pointed in the direction of Lukas. She found her boyfriend cornering Harper. Harper still had to fill one last cauldron. She dropped the bucket, before putting up a fight against Lukas. It wasn't a full out tae-kwon-do battle with Isa on Harper's side and Cassie on Lukas's. It was a little shove-shove type. As Jesse rushed up to help, completely forgetting about the bucket, Lukas took the upper hand and began to drag her away, carrying her as he hopped onto a spider.

"No!" Jesse called, as the spider began up the wall. Harper took out one last item from her pockets, not totally fond of being taken either but what really mattered to her at the moment was Jesse, Ivor, and now, Liam.

"Use the headset, Jesse! And don't forget- the last cauldron!" Harper called out to her ally. "And one more thing! Get the roses to Harry!"

"First, Ron. Now, Harry?! What are you, a Potterhead?!" Ivor exclaimed up at her as Harper threw the roses.

"How 'bout you _silenco_ and help your friend, you foul loathsome evil little cockroach!"

If Liam weren't in so much pain, he'd give Harper a small laugh for that comment. But, everything hurt too much to do so much as move. He felt so helpless and he hated that feeling. He wanted to do _something._ Honestly, there his brother was, going off with the person who was practically the leader of their little squadron. She knew how to shut PAMA down for good, she just needed their help. All he could do was sit up in time to spot Jesse pouring a bucket of water into a cauldron.

"Come on!" Ivor's voice called out to Jesse as a hand lifted Liam from the ground. Liam looked up to find Ivor helping him up and turning him around. "What do we do?"

"Harper told me to remember the last cauldron!" Jesse called back. Liam could only lean into Ivor's side as his grandpa friend helped him through the doors.

Liam, seated back on the ground to regain his strength and energy, watched as Jesse ran through the doors, panting. She closed them, before propping her hands on her knees. When her breath was caught, she stood straight and turned to find the two.

"Harper and Lukas?" Ivor asks, raising an eyebrow with his hand on his waist. Jesse looked down and shook her head.

"Damn.." Liam swore, looking down at the ground. He searched his mind for any memories. Something was there. It was faint, but it was there. "Jesse, I-I'm sort of remembering something. From when I was Chipped." he began, looking up at her, as he tried to pry the memory from it's hiding spot. "It was definitely something important to PAMA, that much I know." At those words, Jesse walked up to him. Liam continued on, knowing it would be something helpful to them in the future. "Tall, glowing red lights. But I can't exactly make out what they are…" Liam shook his head. All this remembering was giving him a headache. He stated this.

"Look, just rest up." Jesse told him, stepping up and holding her hand out to help him up. Although she did tell him to rest up, Liam took the hand and stood. He wanted to move to a different spot anyways. "I don't mean this the wrong way, but you've done enough. All you can do is rest."

"That's a good idea." Ivor agreed. "Best not to tire yourself out. You have to regain strength if we have to fight." Liam only sighs. They were right, and he knew it. PAMA sapped all of his energy, that was for sure.

While Jesse figured things out, Liam sat near where Ivor was.

"What happened while I was Chipped?" Liam asks the older man, sitting back in a chair. Ivor hesitated.

"Well, you didn't hurt anyone, that much I can say for sure. I mean, I was only around for only about five minutes after you were chipped." And on Ivor went, telling him the story.

"Nath, can you get your cat off of my back?" asks a deep voice. "He hates me."

"No he doesn't, Gill." a kid laughs, but gets up from his spot on the floor to do so.

"I swear he hates me." Gill said again, making Maya giggle. Both Petra and Nath were a little wary at first, with the two in their little home for the time being, but they slowly warmed up to them when Gill caught Petra when she tripped over Winslow. It was almost a disaster- if it weren't for Gill's fast reflexes, the baby probably wouldn't've survived the fall. Since then, they both trusted the two and became good friends. Petra and Maya just talked most of the time. They never really gossiped, though. Petra was not a gossip girl. They were all in the living room, having dinner.

"So, how far along are you, again?" Maya asks, getting the lambchops and steak from the furnaces, along with some cooked fish for the cat.

"Eight months. Is that right, Nath?" Petra raised an eyebrow, sitting on the ground. Winslow, being lowered from Gill's back and dropped onto the floor, had gone over to Petra and got comfy in her lap. Nath grabbed the journal that acted as a calendar.

"Yep. Eight months and nine days."

"You'll be delivering in less than a month!" Maya squealed, bouncing a little in excitement.

"How does it feel to be a mother to probably one of the coolest kids in the universe? Other than this knucklehead?" Gill ruffled Nath's head as he spoke.

"I agree. With you and Liam as parents, this kiddo will probably rule the worlds!" Maya jokes, eating up her meal before feeding Winslow.

"I don't think he would necessarily _rule_ them, but he probably will help save them when he's older." Petra pointed at her, laughing a little. She gobbled her steak down. Hey, she was craving steak, not lambchops. Don't blame her.

"Wait- 'he.' It's gonna be a boy? You know that?" Gill raised an eyebrow.

"No. But I get the feeling it is. I decided to be surprised with my reveal tonight. Isa, Milo, and Reggie are coming over for cake. Nath told Isa, and she made the cake specially for us."

"I thought you wanted to wait til Liam would come back to find out."

"It's been over four months since he left, Maya. I highly doubt he'll be back before the baby's here. As much as I hate to admit it, it may be even more time til he comes back to Nath and I." Petra sighs, rubbing her stomach a little. Right on time, there were some knocks on the door. Gill pushed himself up from the ground.

"I'll get it." he volunteered, jogging to answer the door down the hallway. "Coming!" he called, leaving the room. Maya just smiles after him.

"Maya, is there something you aren't telling us?" Nath raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"What?" Maya blinked out of it, making Petra laugh. The fact that Maya actually didn't hear what he had said made her laugh harder. She groans, knowing she had been caught in the act.

"You like him!" Nath poked at Maya's stomach teasingly. "Oh my gosh-"

"No, I don't like him!"

"You don't like who?" Gill asks, reappearing with the cake in hand as well as Isa, Milo, and Reggie trailing behind him.

"Uh, Aiden! The guy sure was a jerk, huh?"

"He's getting better." Reggie jumped in, taking a seat. Their circle became larger as they made room for the additional three.

"Alright, are you ready?" Isa asks Petra, excited as Gill set the cake down in the middle of them all.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I'm still a little against the idea because I want Liam and Lukas and Jesse and- I just want everyone to be here. I miss them. So much." Petra sighs. She shook the thoughts from her head. "Anyways, yes, I'm ready." Isa motioned at the cake.

"Go on." She nodded. Petra, a little wary of all the eyes on her, including Winslow's, reached out and took a slice of the cake. The frosting was a dark chocolate, but the color of the inside was much different. It was a pale blue.

Boy.

"I guess Holden's going to be this little guy's name."

And he'll be Holden Up The Worlds.

 **Ehh? Geddit? I kinda just gave you the title to the next installment. It'll be all AU, rotating around Holden as he grows. Whether Liam comes home or not.**

 **I stole the name from Liv and Maddie. Sorry. (not sorry)**

 **Anyways- School is going well so far, as I said before. It won't be till further into the year when I finish E7. I probably won't even finish this book before 2016 ends. Time flies, huh?**

 **I started this chapter on Friday afternoon. I'm so sorry if it's short and it seems rushed, but I wanted to get something in. So consider this chapter a filler, I guess. *le shrug***

 **So, what did you think of the chapter? Reactions to any certain points? Ship Maya X Gil? Should I do that? What did you think of Liam's 'helplessness?' Do you think you made the right choice in allowing Maya and Gill to help? Should Aiden begin helping too? Should I go to bed? Please say yes to the last one.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU, in the next chapter…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	32. Episode7: Chapter 31

**GREAT TO MEETCHA, I AM GOMMIE AND WELCOME BACK TO "TAKE BACK THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLDS!"**

 **(intro may change a little until I come to something I'm comfortable with)**

 **It's almost the end of the week, which means I could be starting a goal! That goal is to get a chapter out every weekend. If I don't get one out one weekend, then there will surely be one the next, so don't worry!**

 **I notice I've been a little inactive on my Twitter updates, so I'll get back on that as soon as I can. Please follow it at GirlOfMyWorld11. And don't worry- it's not my personal account. It's actually an account dedicated to this, fanfiction writing or storywriting or whatever you would call it, ahah. Plus, I won't be able to tell any of you apart- even if I try. Not much of a matcher.**

 **And, one last thing- I have decided the fate of the Worlds series. You'll have to see the A/N at the end of the chapter.**

 **Anyways, on with the chapter!**

It was well after breaking Harper's precious headset (which was named the 'Sorting Hat' for some reason) that Liam, Ivor, and Jesse were all racing through the dry biome in a rush to get their friends and go home. They had a plan, and it would do exactly as they knew it would go. It was foolproof, it was amazing, it was probably the best plan they had ever made, pretty much.

Liam couldn't stop thinking about Petra and his unborn child and Nath- he even worried a little for Winslow the cat. He couldn't stop the feeling that he would never see them again. He couldn't stop the feeling that when he dropped them off at Sky City to keep them safe, that it would be the last time he would see them.

Liam just scoffed. Why would he even think this? He will see them again, no matter how much it takes. Just a glimpse, that was all he needed. He wanted so badly to just see her again- and he knew it was possible that he was meeting his baby boy or girl in less than a few months. Hopefully, at least.

If he ever made it out of this.

"C'mon." Jesse whispered, motioning her hand up to where she was on the platform. The trio creeped onto enemy territory where there were tons of Chipped patrolling the parameters. All was silent, until- "Quick, hide!" Jesse dove to the left, into an abandoned and destroyed house. Liam and Ivor joined her, and they remained in their places.

"Where is the entrance to this 'PAMA Core' anyways?" Ivor whispered over to Jesse, as they lied on their stomachs, ducking from the Chipped monsters who passed, not noticing the trio.

"It's on the other side of all these mobs." Jesse whispered in answer, while Liam peeked over the side. He could see Chipped mobs and townspeople, but Lukas and Harper were nowhere in sight. _PAMA must be using them as guards for the Core._ His eyes gazed over to a plain in the area where the giant screen was. In that plain, there were Chipped townspeople building an exit portal. _That's our way out of here after we save these people._

"But there are so many of them!" Ivor hissed.

"Yeah, I can't help but to agree with Paps over here- how exactly do you expect us to get past them quietly when there are so many? After the attempted escape, they're sure to be on guard." Liam pointed out, and Jesse glanced up, before looking back at the two.

"You guys have anything we can use?" she asks, emptying her own pockets, save her sword. Ivor and Liam followed along, emptying their pockets- save their swords as well.

"Looks like we can work something out." Liam whispered, noticing there was a rose, a stone button, some TNT, Ivor's potions, some sticks, and redstone. Jesse picked up the potions first.

"These are my last two potions from home." Ivor whispered, and Jesse carefully handed them back over to him. "I held on to them after our Sky City adventure." He held out the pale blue one, "A Potion Of Swiftness…" Then he held out the green, "And a Potion Of Leaping."

"These might come in handy." She smiles at him, and Liam's eyes went back to the supplies before them. Jesse picked up the smooth stone button next.

"I always love me a good butt-" Jesse never got to finish her sentence because Liam sniggered.

"Always with the butts, Jesse."

"Shush." Jesse mumbled, rolling her eyes at Liam's childish attitude, especially in a precarious situation like this. She still smiles, though- despite those facts, he kept the positivity and good spirits of the group high. The brunette pockets the button before picking up the dozens of redstone dust. "I could use the button to activate the redstone dust, but what can I connect it to?" Liam handed her the TNT to help out. "Good idea." she gave him a grin. As she readied the supplies, Liam picked up the rose and gave Ivor a questioning look.

"What? I thought Harper would want her rose back." Ivor replied, a tint of a blush on his cheeks as Liam rolled his eyes. Ignoring their small exchange of words, Jesse looked back up at the others.

"All I need to do is lay down a trail of TNT, use the redstone dust as a fuse, stick a button to the end, push it, and BOOM, path cleared."

"And you can use one of Ivor's potions to get past all these Chipped." Liam added in. "I'd personally recommend the swiftness, but it's always your choice."

"But you said-"

"Don't worry about what I said, Jesse. Just do what your gut tells you- not what I tell you." Liam placed his hands on her shoulders. "I don't need to be dadding you around- that's Ivor's job."

"Hey!"

"But I'll support you, whichever way we go." Jesse looks up at Liam in surprise. "I was letting the stress get to me, and I'm sorry." Jesse couldn't help but to let out a smile.

"Thanks." she nods, making Liam smile back. She looked back to Ivor, and he held out the potions. Liam's little pep talk boosted her confidence- majorly.

"Choose, Jesse. Quickly, now!" he urged.

"Swiftness or Leaping. What'll it be?"

"Give me swiftness." Liam's eyebrows raised at her choice. She listened to other's opinion and took in the facts before diving into a situation. Guess he did kinda teach her a lesson. "With this, I'll be able to run super fast and lay down all the TNT and redstone before PAMA even knows what's happening."

"Don't worry, Jesse, we'll be right behind you." Ivor encouraged. Jesse took a deep breath, looking down at the pale blue potion in her hand.

"Potion, do your stuff." she spoke softly, before downing it. Liam watched as she stood and, as it seemed from his and Ivor's perspectives, sped-walked around some Chipped before taking off into a run, disappearing in a trail of dust and a blur. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

She was going much too fast for Liam to keep his eyes on her. All he could do was find her as soon as the TNT blew up, taking only Chipped monsters with it.

"Is that you Jesse? Because this won't work." PAMA's voice echoed in the now empty courtyard of the small mesa (thank you!) town. "My forces will protect the Exit Portal. My friends have almost finished building our new Exit Portal and then I will make all other worlds useful." Liam grabbed Ivor by the arm and yanked him out, grabbing his sword as the two went creeping along in the direction he saw Jesse going. They soon reunited, and Jesse was the first to speak.

"How's that for clearing a path, huh?"

"Not too shabby. Could've been a little quieter, but we all know TNT. They're anything but quiet or silent." Liam shook his head.

"The Chipped are already building the portal. We better shut PAMA down before it sends its forces through!" Jesse turned around to face the entrance to PAMA's Core.

"I will find you, Jesse. I have lots of friends." PAMA's voice echoed through the air again, as the familiar low moans of zombies began to encircle them. Jesse was the first to make it to the entrance, but Liam and Ivor had a few problems. They were still having said problems when Jesse got a new plan.

"Ivor, Petra: throw me your buckets!" she shouted out through the crowds.

"Don't you worry, Jesse- we'll hold them off!" Liam called out, dodging a spider as he closed in on her, tossing her the bucket. Ivor just threw the bucket as he was still climbing the ledge. He blasted it right at her, making her stumble when she caught his bucket. "Finish this and save my brother, Jesse!" Liam looked back at Jesse as she retreated backwards the entrance. Jesse nodded.

"You betcha!"

The last thing she heard before being fully immersed into the silence of the Core was Liam's battle cry. The man had so much energy in him to continue on- she had no doubt that he will do more than just hold them off.

"Nath, are you okay?" Petra called out through the home. It was well after Gill and Maya left for the night. It was storming pretty badly outside, and Petra had not seen Nath since it had started. "Nath?" she called again, opening his door slowly. There was a smol shaking bundle under the blankets, and Petra sighs. She remembered the dark, stormy, cold night where his mother died. He was afraid of lightning and thunder long before that, but it seemed to only get worse. Lightning flashed endlessly and thunder roared. Petra sighs, rubbing her swollen baby bump with her hand to comfort her unborn son as she walked into the room to comfort her to-be adopted son.

It was like Liam was with them dimensionally. Every time Liam made a hard blow in the Redstone World, lightning would flash in the Sky City World. Every time Liam would make a kill in the Redstone World, thunder would boom in the Sky City World. After what felt like a decade to Nath but was only about ten minutes for Liam, the storm finally stopped, as did the battle.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo…" PAMA's robotic voice trailed off to an end forever. Liam heard it oh so clearly as he ran in with Ivor. The first person he saw was Mystery Woman, whom Jesse and Ivor had told him was named Harper.

"Where's Jesse and Lukas?" Liam asks her, and Ivor nudged his shoulder, pointing to their right (and Harper's left). There Jesse was, carrying a tired and mentally wounded Lukas on her back while climbing back to the main surface. The trio rushed over as Lukas fell off of Jesse's back.

"You did it Jesse!" Harper cheered, not noticing the problem.

"It's over!" Ivor added.

"Shut up, Snape!"

"Wait, Lukas- is he.." Liam trailed, hoping and praying it wasn't what he thought.

"When you removed out the Redstone Heart, it must've severed the connection." Harper explained softly.

"Lukas, you better not die on me or Liam. We both know you are much too strong to die like this-" Jesse began, but Liam cut her off.

"She's right, little bro. Dying like this is stupid, must I say. You've yet to do more in life- don't you dare call it quits now!"

"Well, it's good that I'm not dying, then." Lukas finally opened his eyes, and gave them a weak grin, along with a wink (mainly directed at Jesse, of course). Jesse let out a breath she was holding.

"You damn bastard…" she chuckled, helping him up and pulling him in for a much-needed kiss, her hands gripping the collar of his shirt as Liam put his arms around both Harper and Ivor's shoulders, turning them away.

"It's been a while since they've had a moment like this- let's let them have it." Liam whispered, looking up at the crashed screen of PAMA.

"Arghhh!" Maya's yells of frustration were heard from the kitchens. Gill was the first to rush in, shushing her.

"Petra's asleep, remember?" he reminded the brunette quickly, as Nath trailed behind him.

"Sorry, sorry! I just can't seem to get this stupid chest open. It's like you glued it shut or some crazy crap like that!"

"Hey, let me try it." Gill held a hand out. Maya backs away with a huff, and Gill manages to open it with a little bit of tugging. "There." he motioned back to the chest, then looked to the door to find that Nath was gone- probably back to his own room. He decided to hang out with Maya a little bit before going back to his original job. "What did you need that was in there, anyways?"

"Just some sugar to make a cake." Maya shook her head dismissively as she reached into the chest to grab the said item.

"Cake? For what?"

"Just for a dessert after dinner. I mean, I am a little bored while Petra's sleeping, so.." she trailed with a shrug.

"Bored, huh? You trying to say I'm boring?"

"Not at all-" Maya stopped, then corrected herself. "Okay, sometimes you are."

"Oh my god." Gill facepalms, rubbing his beard as he dragged his hand down his face.

"It's the truth!" Maya laughs softly. "Have a little fun!" she told him, flicking some of the leftover sugarcane at him, making him laugh softly as well. He didn't want to begin barking in laughter, for he fears he will awaken Petra. All was silent for a few moments and he approached her from behind, using his beard to tickle her cheek. She giggles. "That tickles!" she laughs, and Gill continued to tickle her endlessly. He loved her laughs, but he would never admit that he liked her. Gill's arms were now around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder. She sighs, her breath tickling his neck. "It's been quite the adventure of our lives so far." she commented, making him smile. "A-and I'd like to spend the next chapter as a couple." she added after a moment. She couldn't see his reaction- she was scared to. Honestly, though, Gill was surprised. He wanted to make the first move in asking, but Maya beat him to it. But he knew his next steps exactly. Pulling away a little, Gill took the brunette by surprise and placed his lips onto hers. What started out as a soft, chaste kiss turned a little rough in the next few moments before they pulled away from one another.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, but your beard still tickles."

"This hallway is still pretty creepy, but hey, at least we're going home." Jesse mentioned. The whole group was back in the Hall Of Portals, with Harper leading the way. She knew the way for them to get home.

"I know, right?" Lukas quickly agreed. "I've been loving all this adventuring and learning things… but I would like to do that in our own world for a while." Liam chuckles at his brother, pulling him into a noogie as they walked on.

"Stop it, Fred and George." Harper sharply told them, making the older release his younger, and the younger playfully glared at his older while fixing his hair.

"You look fine." Jesse rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Anyways, when we built this place, we also made something that sorta acts as like a compass-slash-map-slash-navigator…" Harper trailed as they walked on. "We called it 'The Atlas.' It helped us chart routes between worlds."

"And you have this Atlas, right?" Liam asks skeptically, an eyebrow raised.

"Ohh, I don't." Harper shook her head. "But! But I know who does." she encouraged. Liam kept his cool, unlike at the beginning of the episode. The group had stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey, you know where it is. That's a start."

"Yeah. Guess I should've seen that coming, though." Lukas rubbed the back of his head.

"Wait- you can't get us home?" Jesse asks. She wanted to see Petra as much as Liam did.

"Okay, okay, no. _I_ can't get you home. But I do know where the Atlas is. That's a start in your getting-home, so relax." She turned and began to walk again. "Don't you worry! We'll just go right in, ask for the Atlas, and then, you'll be home. No fuss, no worry… easy as pumpkin pie and butterbeer."

"Funny. Whenever someone says that, my instincts start screaming 'danger.'" Liam muttered.

"In order to find the Atlas, we need to track down the rest of the old builders." Harper went on. "Still don't like that name." she paused to comment.

"How do we find them, then? Which portal?" Jesse questioned.

"Oh, you don't have to go through another portal. What you've been looking for was right here the whole time." Harper chuckles, turning around and punching a stone brick block from the wall. Where it was was now a small tunnel. "There you go. All it's waiting for is the key. That's the Heart." Harper pointed at Jesse, who had the Redstone Heart in her possession at the moment. Jesse's eyes widened, and she took it out. The bright red glow illuminated some of the redstone dust inside of the tunnel, like it's energy was radiating. Jesse placed the Heart in it's rightful spot, and the ground shook suddenly. The pale blue-cyan portal near them- it had gone down into the ground to reveal an endless flight of stairs.

"Adventure?" Ivor asks, as Liam sighs.

This was all much longer than he thought it would be.

 **Alright, so the dreaded news on the fate of The Worlds Series-**

 **This story will be officially ending after Holden Up The Worlds. Even if there is a Season 2, it will not be likely that this would be continuing. However, I will be starting another all-new series' for the seasons to come (if there are any).**

 **Ahhhhh, now that that's out of the way… What did you think of this chapter? Did you enjoy the ship moments? How about the ending of E7? I can't wait to start Episode 8 when it releases!**

 **I feel like I skipped through some of the important stuff, but I wanted to get a chapter out to you. School will become busier as the year passes, and I have a major goal to end TBTW and begin HUTW before 2017 rolls around.**

 **I stayed up until past midnight making this for you. You're all lucky it's a holiday weekend and I don't have school tomorrow.**

 **Don't forget to follow my Twitter GirlOfMyWorld11 for speedier updates, and as per usual, I will see YOU, in the next chapter…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	33. Episode 8: Chapter 32

**GREAT TO MEETCHA, I AM GOMMIE AND WELCOME BACK TO EPISODE 8, CHAPTER 32 OF "TAKE BACK THE WOOOOOOOOOOORLDS!"**

 **Wow. That's all I can say about this series finale. Wow.**

 **I cried so much. I was pretty much at least close to tears throughout the whole entire episode. Knowing this was the last we would see of them, probably forever, well… It was amazing to have gone on that journey with them.**

 **Okay, anyways, I usually use CaptainSparklez's progress to go through this story, but some of the choices he made were not all ones I want for this story- some of them I didn't even do in my own progress. So I'll be using DanTDM's progress to help me a little.**

 **And since Petra or- anyone else, for that matter- were pretty rare for about a majority of the episode, I'll try to make those 'background scenes' types of things. Which I hope will go well.**

 **School's AWESOME, so far, and- enough of my babblying, I'll let you read the chapter.**

Jesse was the first to step forward, getting a better look at the endless stairs ahead of her and her friends.

"Wow. That is…" Liam began.

"A lot of stairs." Lukas and Liam spoke in unison. The two looked at each other, weird looks on their faces. Lukas took a deep breath, shaking his head as he looked down at his journal, reading it over before adding something with the white feather he kept since the Two Moon World.

"And all revealed by the Redstone Heart… amazing." Ivor breathed, whistling a little as his hands rested on his waist. Liam couldn't agree more, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, not bad, huh?" Harper asks, an eyebrow raised as she grinned over at Ivor, making Liam roll his eyes with a small chuckle at these fools who don't realize they were made for one another. Jesse just nods, before making a left and grabbing the Redstone Heart from it's spot in the wall.

"Good idea. Never know when we might need that." Liam commented with a smirk and a nod. Jesse gave him a smile and pocketed the Heart, before going back to her original spot at the foot of the pristine white stairs.

"Alright, time to go home." Jesse announced, stepping forward and beginning to lead the way up the stairs.

"I can't believe we're finally so close." Lukas laughs a little. "And how long do you think it's been?" He asks Liam, looking at his brother.

"Ah, four months." Liam sighs, shaking his head. "I really don't know anymore. I lost track. She could have already had the kiddo by now."

"You could be right about that. Time becomes a little mixed up within every world. One day in one world could be one week, but that's the greatest it gets too." Harper looked back at him. "Don't worry. She could be halfway through, but she could also be right there."

"I still feel bad about leaving her in Sky World. She would've loved all this adventuring, but of course, she probably would've thrown a tantrum or something."

"Hey, she's pregnant, Liam. I don't blame you for wanting to keep her out of harm's way until after the baby's born." Ivor pat Liam's back. "I would've done the same if I ever had a kid of my own, but that's a little impossible now." Ivor shrugs. "And I'm okay with that."

"Speaking of the past and all that…" Harper began, then took a deep breath, looking around as they continued up the stairs, two at a time. "It feels like just yesterday we were building this place.. Still don't agree with some of the aesthetic choices…"

"You just love being mysterious, don't you? Is that like your favorite thing?" Jesse asks, a little wariness edged into her tone.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about. I just try not think about this place very often." Harper looked away. "Kinda thought I'd never need to come back, to tell you the truth." By then, they had reached the top of the stairs… only to find more accompanying it. Liam sighs.

"Is it just me or does this feel like the End all over-" Liam and Lukas both spoke at the same time again. "Again…" they trailed, giving each other a weird look once again.

"Stop that." Ivor looked over at them.

"I don't know, it's him, not me." Lukas and Liam answered in unison again, making Jesse laugh. "Stop it!" they exclaimed at each other, but Liam couldn't keep a straight face as he, too, began to laugh about this.

"So, what are you hiding from us now, Harper?" Jesse asks after their small group finished with the small chuckle spree that had happened.

"Nothing!" Harper exclaimed, a little too quickly. "Nothing.." she added after clearing her throat. "Well, almost nothing. The others might not be 100% happy to see me."

"Some rivalry between friends or something like that?" Liam asks, raising an eyebrow. He was a bit interested in these people, that's for sure.

"Wait, 'others?' You mean we're going to meet _more_ Old Builders?" Ivor asked, intrigued. Harper turned to look over at Ivor. "Still don't like it when you call us that." she deadpanned, making Ivor look away a little, embarrassed. "And to answer your question, Liam- yep. I gotta warn you, though, they're not as friendly as I am. I'm probably the uh.. _Nicest_ Old Builder."

"I thought you said you hated that name." Liam and Lukas, once again, spoke in unison. The two boys just glared at one another as they continued up the stairs.

"Old Builder social politics… my goodness!" Ivor gasps in amusement.

"Hey, I'm just glad you're on our side. Old Builder or not, you've been pretty cool." Jesse told Harper, making Lukas smile at his girlfriend's words.

"Well thank you, Jesse. I hope I can keep living up to that." She grins up at the brunette who was a few steps ahead of everyone else.

"Well, you're going to give us the Atlas, then we can go home, right?" Lukas asks, voice so full of hope. Liam looked up at Harper. He wanted so much to see his fiancee and hopefully in time for their child to be born.

"Kiiind of…" Harper trailed, her voice a few octaves higher than normal. "The Atlas isn't mine to give. It belongs to the Old Builders." Harper stopped, while the others went on in front of her. Jesse noticed Harper stopping and turned around to face her, stopping as well. "And they might not wanna give it up…"

"Why do I get the feeling there's a lot you're not telling us?" Liam asks, motioning to her as he, once again, crossed his arms, irritated with all this secret-keeping. Yet Jesse remained calm.

"Harper, I thought that was why we brought you- to convince them to hand over the Atlas. You're not going to let us down, right?" Jesse asks, and Harper approaches them, going past Lukas and Jesse. She now led the way upwards.

"Hey, I'm gonna do my best, but gonna warn you now that there may be… complications." Everyone turned around to follow, and Jesse hesitated a little, before catching up.

"What kind of 'complications?'" the brothers asked in unison. They didn't even care at this point.

"Are you sure you're not twins?" Harper asks them.

"We're sure." Harper sighed.

"You'll see when you get there." she glanced back at them. Liam zoned out a little, getting into his own little train of thought as he looked at the blank space around them.

The sound of glass shattering made Nath stop in his tracks. He was on his way to his room, and he knew for a fact that Maya and Gill had left for the night more than an hour ago. Maya and Gill no longer had to go back to the prison; they were freed and they lived in a house of their own. Only Aiden remained there- and he was the only guy in the whole prison. Nath couldn't help but to feel bad for the guy. He just let power get to his head. Nath shook out of his trance and turned around, running back down the hallway.

"Petra?!" he called, and he heard a groan from the kitchen. Winslow followed the boy as he ran into the kitchen. Petra was on her knees, holding her stomach with a shattered potion bottle in pieces in front of her. Nath picked up Winslow, setting her on top of the counter as he used a hoe to very carefully gather the pieces.

"It hurts, owowow…." Petra mumbled as Nath burned the shards in the lava chute that acted as a trashcan.

"Petra, breathe." Nath told her. "Come on, breathe with me." he took a deep breath, and waited till she did- managing a shaking deep breath as well. He released, and she released her breath as well. They both did this same process over and over, until Petra was calm.

"Look, what you're having is a contraction. It means you're close."

"Close? You mean-" Petra stopped herself there, beginning elsewhere. "I can't be- Liam has to be here for it, I-"

"Petra, it's been over half a year since we've seen the guy. Please, calm down. Your panicking won't help you or the baby. Now you'll listen to me." Nath spoke in a commanding voice. Petra was silent, and after a moment, she nodded.

Jesse squirmed a little as they continued up the stairs.

"Ah, something wrong?" Lukas asks, raising an eyebrow up at her.

"Nah." she reassured him, shaking her head. She had the bad feeling of something, but she also shook it off.

"Why do I have a bad feeling in my stomach?" Ivor muttered, and Liam couldn't help but to have felt it too.

"I promise you, nothing bad will happen. Just, last piece of advice…

 _Don't die!"_

"Look, just rest here for the night." Nath began out of the room. "And Petra-" he stepped back in, looking at her. She had a raised eyebrow. "Don't hesitate to call me if you feel something's wrong." Petra just chuckles.

"Don't worry, Nath. You're pretty much a doctor, like your mother, and I like how you're protective over your patients." Petra reassured him.

"But they still haven't found a midwife for your birth. The only one around was my mother, and she never exactly got to tell me how, you know?" Nath sighs.

"Look, Nath, I'm sure we'll figure this out. Let's sleep on it, yeah? I'll talk to Maya about it tomorrow while Gill's gonna take you on a mining adventure."

"Really? You're letting me go with him?"

"Yeah. Have some fun, kiddo. Now go to bed- he'll want you up early in the morning for a full day of mining." She jokes, and Nath nods.

"Good night!"

"Good night!" Petra bade, before getting comfortable and drifting off to sleep.

 **So, ah, sorry it's a little short. But, please, check out my one-shot, "Stay Strong, Fight On" because it will help motivate you. I promise you that.**

 **Don't forget to review what you think will happen! I love hearing your predictions and amazing words- they're what keeps me going in this whole writing business!**

 **Nothing else to say right now. So, thank you everyone for reading the first installment of Episode 8 and I will see YOU, in the next chapter...**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	34. Episode 8: Chapter 33

**SURPRISED TO SEE ME, HUH?**

 **GREAT TO MEETCHA, I AM GOMMIE AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER OF "TAKE BACK THE WOOOOOOOOORLDS!"**

 **Look, I sincerely apologize about this, but Episode 8 for this story will be rather short. Less than five chapters. But don't worry, there will be a long epilogue. Hope you all know what will happen in it!**

 **Anyways, ah, enjoy!**

"Well, what do we have here?" Liam stood up and looked around. Almost immediately- "It seems as if some new competitors have entered the match!" Liam did not like that voice.

"My, isn't that special." a feminine voice spoke out.

"What the hell did Harper just dump us into?!" Liam called out to his friends, immediately pulling out his sword.

"Looks like some sort of a crazy game!" Jesse replied.

"Wait, I recognize this game- Liam, don't you remember?" Lukas looked behind him at his brother. "We used to play this game all the time at the Lakes when we were kids, then I introduced it to the Ocelots-"

"Now's not time for a story, Lukas!" Ivor glared at Liam's brother. "Just tell us what's going on!"

"It's spleef!" Liam exclaimed, taking out his sword.

"Gesundheit?" Ivor asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's a game." Lukas began explaining. "You try to knock the floor out from under other people so they fall!"

"9 o'clock, Jesse!" Liam called out to her, just as a brown-skinned girl dressed in green raised her shovel at the newcomers.

"Be like Tiiiiiiiim!" she cried out, about to knock the floor from under Jesse, but her boyfriend tackled her out of the way. Just in time, too. Liam and Ivor went the other way and the two glanced down the hole to spot lava under glass and tons and tons of pistons. Liam turned around to spot a member of the Yellow Team go after him. He jumped and landed on another block of snow nearby. He kicked the Yellow Team member into the hole they made. The blond peeked quickly, finding that his opponent had joined a member of the Green Team and he heard the pistons begin to whir into action. The next thing he knew, the two teammates were smashed to bits, the only thing remaining were their shovels and helmets.

"Argh! That was my only decent teammate!" he heard a girl groan angrily, before her footsteps became louder. Liam knew she was coming closer and closer. He felt the floor begin to dig away, going out around him. Explosion to his right, fire arrows around him, their opponents trying to take the floor out from under him. Through all the commotion, Liam found that Ivor was also in a bit of a situation. He was trying to avoid the arrows.

"Don't worry about me, get Ivor!" he called out to the pair before looking back at them. He spotted Lukas coming right at him and tackling his older brother out of harm's way. As they were getting out of their jams, Liam felt an immense pain on his arm and front. With Lukas on top of him, he could feel the wetness of new blood coming onto his chest and arm. He groaned in pain.

"Liam, are you alright?" Lukas asks, and Liam shook his head, trying to bear through the pain.

"The scars from Sky City… They've reopened…" he managed with a gasp, before feeling the floor go out from under him. Instincts being instincts, Liam wrapped his injured arm around his brother and used his uninjured one to hang onto another snow block. Lukas's arms wrapped around his waist, trying to hang on for as long as he could. They heard the pistons smash underneath them, and it kept smashing, shaking the grounds a little. Some players fell through, but others managed to keep their balance. Liam, though, his hand was slipping.

"I can't hold on much longer!" Liam told Lukas.

"Don't let go!" Lukas encouraged him, and Liam clenched his eyes shut, trying to hold on for much longer than he is right now. "Keep holding on-"

Let's just say that Lukas never got to finish his sentence.

A week had passed. They didn't know it, but a day in the Old Builder's World is a week in Sky City World. Just as Harper told the group, time worked differently. Petra was getting closer and closer as time passed. Maya helped her out when she had another painful contraction. Yet, as time kept going, they were becoming more and more painful as they became more and more frequent. Nath continually reassured her that it was normal, that it meant the baby was getting ready. He, Maya, and Gill were all still rather nervous- they _still_ hadn't found a midwife. They could try without one, but it's a large possibility that the baby _and_ the mother would die. And obviously, they did not want that to happen.

"Alright, Nath. I have to go- gotta make a few stops before I actually head on home. You got it covered?"

"Yeah. If something goes wrong, I'll holler." Nath nods, as Winslow hops onto his shoulders, getting comfortable there. Maya gave the cat a quick but small scratch on the head as she opened the door. The two waved goodbye to one another before Maya left.

The first stop she was made was to the prison.

She would always pay Aiden a visit once a week. He was the only one in that prison and she knew that being alone would get you to very bad places. I mean, look at Ivor and Soren.

"Hey Maya." Aiden greeted her. He was curled into a ball, leaning against the wall. All he was ever given was a chest and a bed. He had taken off all his armor, revealing him in just his Magnus t-shirt and jeans. Maya gave him his meal, which was just some cooked steak she had brought with her.

"Hey Aiden. How are you holding up here?" Maya asks.

"Ehh, pretty good. Getting used to it." Aiden just shrugged. He noticed the slightly stressed look on Maya's face. "Is everything all right? You've never really told me much of anything about what's going on out there now- we've always talked about our past and what we could've done to change it and all that fancy shmancy stuff." Maya looks down at the ground as he spoke.

"Well, Gill and I are together, now." she told him, making Aiden laugh a little.

"I thought it would always be me and Jackie, but, well, you know what happened." Aiden sighs, but reaches out to her. "I know that's not what's bothering you, there's something else you're not telling me." He took hold of her shoulder as he said that, making Maya hitch a breath. She didn't know whether she would tell him or not.

"Well, do you remember how your parents were doctors?"

"Yeah. They helped a lot of people… I wish I woulda taken after them instead of this stupid 'power' thing that got to my head.." Aiden shook his head at himself. "But, go on." he nods at Maya to continue.

"Well, in our, ah, little attack, heh, we got their only doctors killed. The only one with medical experience is a 13 year old kid and he can't exactly help give birth to a child for he's too young."

"Wait, birth to a child? They've already decided to reproduce?"

"Please let me finish." Maya gave him a look that silenced him for the time being.

"Well, tell me who's baby it's gonna be. Maybe I can help give birth- my mom taught me how. Not like, hands-on, that would be just weird, but she taught me how if I ever decided to take after them."

"I didn't know if you wanted to, but you're going to have to, Aiden. If I can convince Reginald to let you out just to help her give birth, then perhaps you'll be out of here forever."

"What's one successful childbirth going to help me get out of here?"

"Heh, I was getting to the 'who' part." Maya took a deep breath. "It's Petra and Liam's baby. He, the baby's a boy, he's so close to popping. Petra had her first contraction a week ago and they've been becoming more and more frequent in the past week. Nath knows that it's almost time- a few weeks more is all it will take. If you don't help, then both Petra and her son will die, and you won't be able to get out of here until you've served your full sentence here."

All those words left Aiden speechless.

"Wait, if Petra's close to popping now and our attack was less than nine months ago, then that means-"

"She was pregnant through the whole portal adventure of hers. Liam said that they had only gone through one other portal before realizing she was pregnant and he brought her back here until they find their way home."

"We-" Lukas panted as he swung the pickaxe down. "We wouldn't even be here if you hadn't let go of that stupid block! What if we actually died?!"

"I know. I'm sorry." Liam sighs, looking down at his arm. He never got to heal his reopened scars. It seemed to him that Lukas had forgotten.

"Jesse and Ivor are probably goners without us- I'm surprised to see that they aren't here as well." Lukas said once again as he swung the pickaxe down.

"They're fine, Lukas, I promise you that. Jesse-" Liam began, but Lukas threw his pickaxe down, the sharper end sticking into the netherrack. He turned and crossed his arms up at his brother.

"How do you think Petra would react if Jesse had to go home and tell her that you and your brother died in a fucking tournament? We're probably down here forever- you may never see your kid or your fiancee again-"

Okay, that was a new low. Even for Lu- no, not even. _Especially_ for Lukas. Throughout their few hours of mining and putting up with Lukas's ranting about how it was all Liam's fault they were there. Liam dropped his pickaxe and grabbed his brother by the collar of his jacket, shoving him into the wall behind him.

"I know that, Lukas. And you remind me every damn time. I know that it's my fault for letting go of the block and I can't take back what had happened. I know that I have a woman and a child to go back to and I will. I know that you have every right to blame me for 'killing us' but that does not mean you can think of me as the villain in your story all of a sudden. I'm going to get us out of here if Jesse can't. We'll hop back into the Sky City World if we do have to make an escape for ourselves. See, look at that, I've been forming a plan while you were going on and on about our 'death' and all that fancy shmancy stuff that I already know. Now stop whatever attitude you're in and man! Up!" Liam shoved his brother at the wall again, letting go of him as he did so. Lukas fell to the floor, in shock at Liam's burst and ashamed of himself for putting all the blame on his brother.

"Hey, you two!" a bold voice suddenly interrupted them, followed by a munching sound. "You're free to go!" he called as he approached them, finishing some bread that was in his hand. Liam gave Lukas a dirty look before grabbing his pickaxe and walking up by the guard. Lukas helped himself up, grabbing his own pickaxe. He caught up next to Liam, who was now walking alongside the guard.

"Liam, I-" Lukas began, but Liam held a hand up to him.

"Don't." he told him, his voice still in it's deeper volume when he was pissed. The guard, having finished it's delicious meal of warm bread, took their pickaxes and handed them to another guard. He then shoved the two out of the portal.

"Here. Go away, Respawns." the guard growled as Liam fell to the ground with a grunt. He pushed himself to his feet, noticing Jesse and Ivor both standing there. Only he saw the spots of red on the snow made by his own blood. He stood where no one would see them. He didn't need them to worry about him right now.

"Jesse!" Lukas gasps, standing up as well. "Man, is it good to see you."

"You too, Lukas." Jesse leapt forward and hugged him, making Liam sigh and look at Ivor. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later on tonight." he told the other man before turning around and walking away, through one of the alleys and out of sight.

 **Oooohhhh boy, lotta action, lotta angst.**

 **Now I have the usual questions for you! What do you think Aiden's reaction was to Maya's (since I became evil and gave y'all a cliffhanger)? Did you like Liam's reaction to Lukas's negativity? Do you think Liam will get back in time for Holden's birth? Should Aiden help? Review your answers to those questions and as I always do, I will read them!**

 **Again, Episode 8 for this story will be short. So sorry about that! Before we know it, the Worlds Trilogy will be coming to an end! Noooooooo!**

 **But don't fret! I will continue making MCSM fanfictions, each one (possibly) better than the last! I have many plans for the future.**

 **I won't ever stop giving to the MCSM community because it keeps giving to me! I do plan to take a break between TBTW and HUTW. I have two small ficlets I would like to take care of before going any further. Thank you for your support and cooperation!**

 **Follow me on Twitter at GirlOfMyWorld11! And don't forget about Wattpad at ImSorryFather1100!**

 **That's all I've got for this chapter, so thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU, in the next one…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	35. Episode 8: Chapter 34

**GREAT TO MEETCHA, I AM GOMMIE AND WELCOME BACK TO "TAKE BACK THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLDS!"**

 **Ah. I started this chapter shortly after posting the previous one- I just wanted to get a little bit done because I may have a lot of homework this week, considering I didn't get all that much last week or the week before.**

 **So, well, here y'all go and enjoy the show!**

Liam walked through the town until his vision slowly blurred. He had to get to bed- the loss of blood and need for sleep is really getting to him and he knew that.

Meanwhile, back at the dormitories, Lukas decided to just share a bed with Jesse. The brunette had an arm around his waist, using his bicep as a pillow. The two had their own room- the brothers were originally supposed to share one, but Lukas never got the chance to actually apologize. They still whispered, even though the others were all asleep by now.

"What happened in the mines while I was working to get you out? You seemed tense ever since, and I'm getting a little worried." Jesse finally whispered to him the dreaded question he didn't want to answer. Well, she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Well…" Lukas sighs, his eyes staring at the wall as he spoke. She was cuddled into his chest below him, which was adorable, but Lukas became serious as he went on. "I did make Liam angry. I was going on and on about how it was his fault for letting go of the block, not waiting until you or Ivor came in to save us. I was stressed out because, well, what if we didn't respawn? What if we were dead, gone forever?" Lukas closes his eyes at the thought, and he holds Jesse closer to him in a tight hug. Horizontally, of course.

"Lukas…" Jesse mumbled, before holding him back.

"I was so overcome with anger and rage that I even said that he'll never see his fiancee or kid again because we were going to be stuck in those mines. Then he snapped, bringing me back to reality." He closes his eyes, letting go of a few tears. "I immediately regretted everything I said in the mines. I don't think Liam's even arrived back from his 'walk.'"

"Lukas, look at me." Jesse gently pulled herself away from him, cupping his face in her hands. "You two will make up, I promise. There's not a day that goes by that one of you don't visit the other. You are both real brothers. This conflict won't last long- you're too close to let that happen." Suddenly, Lukas felt a pain in the back of his eye.

"Ow…" he mumbled, sitting up a little. He rubbed his eye, and the pain went away. He seemed to shrug it off, lying back down.

"Something the matter now?"

"Nothing, just a headache behind my eye for some reason."

"Yeah? The weird feeling in my stomach isn't going away either." Jesse sighs, shaking her head. "Let's sleep on it, yeah?"

"Yeah. Real sleep sounds nice right now. Night, beautiful." Lukas pecked her nose, making Jesse giggle a little.

"That tickles. Night." she kisses his nose before cuddling back into his chest for warmth.

Alright, enough with that sappy stuff. Back to Liam. So, turns out, he had absolutely no clue that there was a curfew. He realized that as soon as he managed to escape the 'Gladiators,' but he didn't quite escape in one piece. Well, literally, he did. He still had all his limbs. But he left behind the sight in his left eye. One of the Gladiators had used their sword and gave him another scar to add to the collection.

The blond ran through the streets, a hand over his eye as the Gladiator followed behind him. He risked a glance, and he knew he was lucky, because he would be able to make it back to the dormitories.

What no one knew was that Ivor was still awake, sitting in the main hall of the dormitories. He still cared for Liam, yet he didn't know what Lukas had said to him about their 'death.' All he heard was that Liam's scars reopened, and Ivor was still low on medications and bandages. The Potions Master had tried to tell Lukas that it wasn't his brother's fault for getting them 'killed,' that he was too injured to go on, but Lukas just went off to bed without another word. Ivor knew that he should be asleep right now, for he's the one to go on in the battles alongside Jesse the next day.

"What are you doing up, Ivor?" asks a voice to his right. Ivor jumped, snapping out of his train of thought and turning his head to find Harper standing in the doorway. She had a concerned look on her face as she walked in.

"Ah, I'm just waiting for Liam to get back." he told the smarter woman, shaking his head.

"Are you the brothers' father?"

"No, not really. Their real father's dead and gone. I'm just filling in for an old friend."

"So a father figure."

"Yes." Ivor nods with a chuckle as he looked up at the door again."I'm a little concerned for Lukas and Liam. Something definitely happened in those mines, and it wasn't good. Besides, you know how were were going through portal after portal?" Harper nods in reply as she took a seat next to him. "Well, shortly before we went through the first one that took us to the Sky City World, Liam got injured pretty badly. During spleef, I heard him tell Lukas that his scars had reopened. I'm hoping he hasn't lost too much blood. Petra, his fiancee, she's the fighter of the group, and she would be _furious_ if she found out he's died." Ivor explained, taking the bandages from his inventory. "So, I'm going to be up a little longer, waiting until he gets back to heal him up."

"That's a great choice to make, especially if you have to get up early for tomorrow's competition." Harper complemented, making Ivor's pale skin turn a little red at the cheeks.

"Thank you." he managed, a little flustered from the complement. Harper held her hands out.

"I'll take care of Liam. You go get some sleep for the games tom-" Harper began her offer, but the door opened, silencing her. The blond that Ivor was waiting for stumbled in, a bloody hand holding his bloody eye and his bloody shirt getting even bloodier from the wounds he had earned on this long trip through the portals. Liam fell after he shut the doors.

"Harper, is there-" he panted a little, "-a curfew I wasn't told of?"

"No, why?"

" _No_ oooo..." Liam groaned, lying on the ground for Ivor to begin tending to him.

"I'll take that and tend to his hand." Harper held out her hand for a bandage from Ivor. "Kid, I'm going to need to see your hand if you want me to heal it." She told Liam. Liam only laughs dryly.

"Well, while I was getting beaten for 'being out late' and weaponless, I got a scar that hurts more than any other scar I've earned." Liam brought in a shaky breath as Ivor handed Harper some bandages.

"What are you talking about? Kid, I'm going to have to see that hand if you want me to heal it."

"That's the thing, it's not my hand that's gained a scar." Liam removed his hand to reveal his eye which had a sword's slice going upwards on it. It didn't look all that deep, but it was deep enough to remove all sight in that eye. Ivor's mouth was slightly agape, and he and Harper made eye contact with one another. They both gave Liam a look of sympathy, knowing that he will never see out of one eye again. Harper was the first to snap out of it and get on with the procedures.

"Can you blink?" Liam blinked on the injured eye to prove that statement. "I'm gonna cover your other eye since Ivor's taking care of your hand." Harper did that, and Liam let her. "Can you see what the banner on the wall is?"

"Well, I can't _see_ it, but I'm going to take a guess that it's Tim again." Liam replied, and Harper removed her hand, beginning to tend to his eye by folding one bandage repeatedly and placing it on his closed injured eye as he lifted his head for her to wrap the other bandage around.

"Do you remember which Gladiator beat you?"

"Yeah- it was Acer, the one with the pink mohawk, I think." Liam replied as there was a door opening and closing in the distance. Ivor looked behind him to find it was the girl from the purple team.

"I-Is everything alright?" she asks shyly, as she walked into the room.

Harper and Ivor's heads shot up to look at her, before they both looked at each other. Harper realized they could tell her the truth.

"Our friend here was beaten by Acer." Ivor told the girl, who walked up to them as the two elders finished getting Liam bandaged.

"Acer? Oh, you don't want to mess with him in the black of night…" the girl sighs. "I'll help with anything- do you need more bandages? Food? I can just give my ration over to him-" she began, but Ivor cut her off.

"I'm going to make sure his brother and Jesse are awake. Can you help Harper get him to a bed? We'll have to tell Hadrian that he's sick." Ivor told her, standing up. He walked out as Purple approached him.

"Is that guy usually like that?" she asks, raising an eyebrow at Harper.

"You have no idea." Liam chuckles, still lying on the ground.

"Come on, can you stand?" Harper asks him, but the girl stops her from pulling Liam up.

"Let him sit up first, then he can stand." she said, helping Liam to a sitting position. Harper obeyed, letting Liam relax for a little. He looks at her.

"What's your name?"

"Jackie." The girl tells him. "Yours?"

"I'm Liam. This is Harper."

"Wait, Liam? We've met before, haven't we? In a cave or something?"

"I think I remember you… I saved you from a horde of spiders in my cave home. Still don't know how you got there?"

"Nope." Jackie deadpanned. "Hey, do you happen to know a guy- nahhh, nevermind that." she shook her head, waving it off. "Absolutely no chance anyways." Liam was going to ask who this guy was, but he shook it off as Harper tapped his shoulder.

"You ready to stand? We gotta get you to bed before others come out and get all suspicious. I'll talk to Otto about Acer." She and Jackie both helped the blond up to his feet. Liam stumbled a bit, growing dizzy.

"Where am I going to be staying?" Liam asks, as Ivor came back without Lukas or Jesse. Harper raised an eyebrow at him, as if asking why the two weren't with him.

"They weren't awake." Ivor shook his head. "And, Liam, you can take my room. I didn't sleep in it at all last night because you were out too late."

"Aw, you really care?" Liam teased the older man, making him roll his eyes.

"Of course I do! Now, off to bed with you! Honestly, you lost blood last night, be glad it wasn't a continual flow or your wouldn't be here now." Ivor shooed him, making Jackie have to cover a laugh behind her hand. Ivor gave her a look, which silenced her. Liam followed Ivor to his room.

"Real sleep sounds amazing right now." Liam grumbled. "I haven't had real sleep in a while."

"I sacrificed my real sleep-"

"But you didn't have to-"

"Just so I saw to it that your wounds were fine and you were okay." Ivor's words silenced Liam. Liam didn't react, still processing the words Ivor had told him. The corners of the blond's lips turned up into a smile.

"Thanks." He looked to Ivor, who shook his head.

"It's wasn't a problem. Now go get some sleep." Ivor nodded his head towards his room door, which Liam stepped through.

"Good luck." he bade his alchemist friend, who nodded before walking away.

"I'll let Lukas and Jesse know what happened to you… and perhaps we can get Jackie as an ally…" Ivor muttered the last part as he walked away. Liam just hums in a chuckle and closed the door to the room. He trudged over to the bed and pulled back the covers. The blond get comfortable on his side before drifting into a much-needed deep sleep.

Liam woke, and the first thing he noticed was that the room had grown dark. He looks outside and finds the moon gleaming through the window. Yet, there was the streetlights interrupting the shine of the stars. He mumbled something to himself with a groan as he threw the covers off. The blond stretched himself out. He didn't quite notice the fact that he had pretty much lost an eye- it's like he had forgotten about it.

Liam was quickly reminded of it when he saw the people, Gladiators and competitors alike, giving him weird looks. He noticed Jackie making her way to him with some bread in her hand.

"They refused to give me a second ration for you, so I'll just give you mine." She told him, handing it over. Liam opened his mouth to protest, but Jackie was too quick. "Too late to take it back now. Eat, before Clutch catches you with someone else's ration. She'll give you a beating far worse than what Acer gave you last night."

"Wait, Acer- Oh…" Liam trailed off, having realized why everyone was looking at him so weirdly.

"I'm guessing you forgot about the eye?"

"Yeah, I did." Liam sighs, shaking his head. "I'll go see Ivor about it." he reassured her.

"Alright. I guess we'll chat later?" Jackie raised an eyebrow at him, and he nods.

"Of course." Jackie left him alone, going back to her teammates. Liam was about to walk away, but he overheard the conversation that Jackie was having with her teammates.

"What were you doing with that guy?"

"Yeah, why were you giving him food?"

"He's my friend, guys. An old one-" But they didn't let her finish and continued scolding her. Liam sent the two men a glare with his one good eye, walking up to her.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Scram. We don't need you here."

"Correction, you don't need me or Jackie here to help you imbeciles. This-" he motioned to them. "Is not how a team works. Come on, Jackie." Liam motioned her away, and Jackie followed, head down in shame that she couldn't stand up for herself. "You don't need to hang out with blokes like them."

"Thanks." Jackie replied, sending him a small smile.

"Now we're even." Liam gave her a pat on the back as he approached Lukas, Harper, and… Ivor in his undergarments? Just the sight of Ivor made Liam laugh a little.

"Uh, Ivor, what are you wearing?"

"He 'died.' Turns out, he had…" Harper paused, before waving a hand at Ivor's outfit. "This, under those robes."

" _It breathes wonderfully!"_ Ivor exclaimed at her for what Liam could tell was the millionth time. He turned around to find Liam with Jackie. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Liam tried to stay serious, but he couldn't, honestly. He let out another laugh, before going and covering his mouth.

"Am I allowed to laugh? I'm going to have to walk away and laugh if I'm not-" Jackie whispered to Liam, but Liam shook his head.

"You can laugh." At that, Jackie just began giggling and kept doing that.

"Liam, can I talk to you?" Liam felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Lukas. At the sight of the bandages around his eye, Lukas's mouth went slightly agape. "Liam…" Lukas began, and Liam crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at his brother. He suddenly went from giggly to stoic- it was obvious he still wasn't on the best of terms with his brother mentally. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for what I said in the mines. It wasn't cool, and, well, I've only just found out a half an hour ago that you were injured and there was no way you would've been able to save both of us." Jackie, Harper, and Ivor stood off to the side, watching the moment. "I'm sorry, Liam. I'm going to get you back to Petra and your son or daughter, even if it means sacrificing my life."

"You're my brother, Lukas. We'll get out of this. We all will." Liam looked back at Jackie and Ivor. "You'll get to see your niece or nephew, Jackie will get to see her friends again…" Liam smiles down at his brother.

"Woahhh dude, you're going to have a little ankle-biter soon?" a blonde girl interrupted the moment. Turns out, the two had a little crowd attracted.

"You didn't hear him?" a larger girl questions her teammate.

"I must be dreamin'... Just the thought of kids makes me see my brothers and sisters…" the blonde replied to her friend. Liam sent Lukas a confused look. Lukas nods.

"Nell, Em, meet my brother, Liam." Lukas pushed Liam forward a little.

"Hey, when we battled in the games, didn't you have both your eyes?" Em asks him, motioning to his bandages.

"Yeah. Acer got me good." Liam shook his head. Nell winced.

"Sorry about that…" Nell apologized. "And sorry about getting you and your bro eliminated."

"You don't apologize for getting others eliminated, Nell. You eliminated us, fair and square." Liam told her, giving her shoulder a pat. Nell gave the older sibling a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, brah. I'll see ya later, yeah?"

"Yeah. Bye." Liam nods as he turned around to face Lukas while Nell and Em walked off. "So, what happened while I slept?"

After a load of explaining…

"Jesse! You're okay!" Ivor's call distracted him, and Liam walked past him, Harper, and Jackie to meet Jesse.

"What happened up there?" Liam asks, looking down at her. Jesse seemed not to have noticed the eye yet, which Liam was glad for. He didn't need people caring about his wellbeing at the moment.

"Have you see what Ivor is wearing?" Lukas asks Jesse, holding his stomach.

"I said _shut up!_ " Ivor exclaimed at Lukas, making Liam roll his eyes. Jesse got up, taking her hands off of her knees and, having regained her breath, delivered the news.

"Hadrian has Axel, Olivia, and Petra."

 **ITS HUMP DAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY**

 **Finished this for ya! Hope you all like it!**

 **What'd you think of that little twist at the end, eh? How about Jackie? Do you think Liam will go overprotective fiancee/dad mode and break them out? Will Petra and Holden survive childbirth if she has to do it in that cell with just Olivia with her? Hey, I made Hadrian nice enough to give her a cell partner.**

 **Let me know what you think of this chapter in the reviews! It's probably a little short, but I'm so pumped! I have an epic ending set out for you and I cannot** _ **wait**_ **to get to that ending.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I will see YOU, in the next chapter…**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	36. Episode 8Epilogue: Chapter 35

***deep breath***

 **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

 **GREAT TO MEETCHA, I AM GOMMIE AND WELCOME BACK TO "TAKE BACK THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLDS!"**

 **(9/26) I'M SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING ON TIME  
FIRST, I HAD SET CREW**

 **THEN, THIS VOLUNTEER THING AT MY GRANDFATHER'S CHURCH**

 **FINALLY- GOSH. DARN. L.**

 **(9/27) OH YEAH, I WOULDA UPDATED LAST NIGHT**

 **IF MY POWER DIDN'T RUN OUT ON ME**

 **SHOULDA CHARGED UP MY COMPUTER**

 **TO BE FAIR, I UPDATED TWICE DURING THE WEEK LAST WEEK, SO**

 ***SHRUG***

 **OH YES**

 **GETTING A NEW COMPUTER**

 **VERY VERY SOON  
BE PREPARED FOR HORRIBLE ART AND PHOTOSHOP AND ALL THAT ON DEVIANTART AT GIRLOFMYWORLD11**

 **Okay, I'm done screaming.**

 **Extra, extra special finale chapter for Episode 8. Also, not only is it the final chapter of Episode 8, but it's also the Epilogue! I decided the mash the two up into one long chapter to finish it off, so...**

 **Warning, gonna be a LOT longer than usual!**

 **Here y'all go and enjoy the show!**

"He has _Petra?_ But how?" Lukas asks for Liam who was silent over Jesse's words.

"Turns out he and Mevia used the Atlas and snatched them from the worlds they were in. Olivia and Axel from home and Petra from Sky City World." Jesse explained.

"How are they, though? Did Hadrian or Mevia hurt any of them?" Lukas asks, concerned. He was still concerned for his brother's fiancee and his girlfriend's best friends.

"No one was hurt from beatings or anything of the sort, but Petra was clearly having an intense contraction when I got in there. Olivia's in a cell with her, but she has no medical experience. We'll have to get her out as soon as possible and back to Sky City World so she can give birth safely."

"Where are they?" Liam questions her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Obsidian prisons in Hadrian's office. Petra said she only has a few days left until it really begins. Or, that was what Nath told her." Jesse did a little one shoulder shrug and shook her head. "But Hadrian, he offered me a deal. He'll send you all home if I go to the mines in your place."

"Y-you didn't take it, did you?" Lukas asks, walking up to Jesse. "Please tell me you didn't take it." He took her by the shoulders, making her look into his eyes. Jesse was silent, until she found an interest in the ground. "No…" Lukas breathed, looking back at Liam for help. Liam's mouth opened, but no words came out. Seriously, he was shocked. Jesse sacrificed her freedom for their lives. ALL of their lives. "Why did you do it?"

"Lukas, I'm sure she feels bad enough as it is." was all that came out of Harper's mouth.

"Why did you do it?" he repeated, cupping Jesse's face in his hands until she got out.

"I-I did it to save you guys. To save Petra, to save your son-" Jesse nodded at Liam, then stopped, having realized she said something she shouldn't've said.

"It's a boy?" Ivor asks for the blond, making Jesse nod.

"Who cares what the sex of your baby is? That was a dumb move." Em said as she walked forward.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with her. Hadrian will let you lose and take the Redstone Heart, claiming it was the original deal and all." Harper shook her head, crossing her arms.

"So who can help us then? Hadrian and Mevia are both the worst." Liam spoke up, looking at his brother's girlfriend. Jesse pulled away from Lukas, walking around him to pace a little. The thought of the two Old Builders brought the third to mind.

"But what about the third guy?" she asks, looking up at Harper for her help.

"Otto? How could _he_ help?" Harper asks the brunette, following her as she began across the courtyard. Ivor, Lukas, and Liam followed. Liam knew Em was still listening in, but he let her be. "He's always stayed out of the more… lever-pulling sides of the games."

"Well, he seems like a big fan of the rules. Maybe we could use that to our advantage?" Jesse questions, turning to look back at her.

"Ha." Harper crossed her arms again, raising an impressed eyebrow at her thinking. "He loves rules, that's for sure. Always plays by 'em. If you won, I know he would definitely make sure you got the Atlas. _That_ was the original deal. And he's an honorable man."

"Harper, Hadrian still has my friends trapped in an obsidian prison. One of them is _pregnant._ I can win the Atlas, but I'm gonna need you to get them out." Jesse gave Harper the 'I mean business.' glare, and Harper nodded, pulling out a diamond pickaxe.

"Good, there's three cages. One of em has Axel, another with both Olivia and Petra, and the last with Reuben."

"Wait, Reuben? But I thought he was-" Liam began, but Jesse cut him off.

"Not _that_ Reuben. The usher we had to distract at the Endercon that started all this, his name is Reuben." Jesse nodded at Lukas, who went 'ahhh' with a nod as he remembered.

"I'll go with Harper." Liam volunteered, stepping up behind the older woman and patting her back. "Petra can't actually run, anyways, considering she's probably got a big belly by now."

"Wait wait wait," Em jumped right back into the conversation. She bounced off of the ledge she was leaning against. "You really think you can free everyone in this place AND win the games?" She was now in front of Jesse.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck with that last part. Do you really think you can just beat all the other teams by yourself?" Jesse just rolled her eyes in reply.

"She's gonna do what I think she's gonna do? Is she? Is she gonna do what I think she's gonna do?" Liam questions Lukas with a bit of a giddy expression. Lukas rolls his eyes at his brother's antics. The two always loved it when Jesse gave one of her famous speeches or pep talks.

"Shush." Lukas waved a hand in front of his brother with a laugh.

"That _is_ a pretty tall order… even for you, Jesse." Harper pointed out. Em scoffed, and Liam heard all the other teams whispering and pointing.

"It's impossible is what it is!" Em exclaimed.

"We'll work together." Jesse answered Em, just as members from all the teams began walking forward. Lukas, not a big fan of crowds or anything of the sort after totally embarrassing himself at a gig.

"Ah, we've got a crowd forming…" Lukas chuckles nervously, as the whispering and muttering continued. Jesse slowly backed away, bumping into Liam as she did so.

"I think that's your cue to do your thing, Jessers." Liam told her, before letting her go.

"The Old Builders make you all compete in the games, event after event after event after event…" Jesse began, with a burst of newfound courage and confidence, speaking out to the crowd and not just her friends. "They build up hope, but they're still controlling everything! They'll never _really_ let anyone win unless we work together!" Jesse took a breath. "Hadrian keeps twisting and changing the rules on us. I say it's our time to change the rules on them!"

"What's the point?" Em asks, turning and heading towards the dormitories. "Hadrian will still have all the power. There's no way we'll be able to take that from him. He'll just make up new rules."

"Hadrian is not fully in control. Winning is possible, Em." Jesse turned around and stepped up onto the platform. She turned back around to face the crowd. "Don't you want to win?"

"I-I do, more than anything! But…" Em trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Nobody beats Hadrian at his own games. Nobody." A girl from the Yellow Team slid in.

"Hey, Tim did!" the blonde pointed to the sign/banner that had Tim's face on it. "If it weren't for Tim, I don't think I'd be here right now."

"Yeahhh…" Jesse trailed. "Except he's not real. Hadrian fed you all a complete lie just to keep you going in the games!"

"I knew that stuff seemed too good to be true!" Liam exclaimed as the crowd mumbled. Lukas slightly pushed Liam with his hand on his chest, shushing him pretty loudly.

"Don't you all see?" Em asks, and the crowd's attention diverted to her. She was one of the first to snap out of the shock from the truth. "If Tim was just made up this whole time… then no one's actually beaten the games."

"Are you really saying you wanna quit?" Jesse asks Em. "We can beat those gladiators, we can beat the games, we can beat the Old Builders- we can beat everything and anything if we work together!"

"Have you _seen_ what those Gladiators did to your boyfriend? They blinded him-" Nell began, making Liam turn around.

"I'm not her boyfriend!"

"I don't care right now, it's either you or your brother!" Nell exclaimed back, and someone sniggered at Nell's attitude. "Anyways, these gladiators- they're not just 'boo' scary, they're _jumpscare_ scary." Well, Nell had a point. "Those Gladiators are tough. I don't think any one of us will be able to get past any of them."

"One by one, they'll be able to take us down, that's for sure." Jesse admitted. "But working together, we'll outnumber and overpower them!"

"Where's Jesse going with this?" Lukas muttered, making Liam grin at his brother.

"No one's ever beat the games, because no one's had a true leader to help you make a plan." Jesse went on, pacing left and right across the stage. "And with everyone working together, we'll do this even better. We're going to do this… as a team." Jesse finished.

"Alright, girl, bring it home, bring it home…" Liam muttered under his breath, a hand covering his mouth as he had spoke.

"We don't need Tim… because we _are_ Tim!" Jesse proclaimed. All was silent for a minute until the crowd cheered. Liam clapped along, a smile on his face. The crowd separated, either going off to sneak a late dinner or just having a walk before going to the dormitories for bed.

"Look, it was a nice speech and all, but strength doesn't come from speeches." Em shoved past a member from Blue Team on her little journey to meet Jesse as she walked down the stairs of the stage. "Actions speak louder than words."

"My strength comes from my friends, Em. We work together and we have one another's backs and we think our way out of everything." Jesse pointed out, motioning to her friends that stood to the side. Lukas gave her a warm smile. "I mean, yeah, we had to fight here and there, and we've had our conflicts, but we're making it."

"I agree with Jesse, Em." Ivor spoke up, and Liam looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I was once the bad guy in the story, a little over a year ago. But Jesse helped me to be who I am today."

"Yeah, I don't plan on being your friend sooner or later." Em glared at Jesse before walking off. Lukas approached the brunette, rubbing the back of his head.

"Man. Some crowd. You think that got through to the them?" Lukas asks her, as Liam goes to lean against the platform wall. Behind him, the Tim Fangirl of Yellow Team is walking past him, hands on her temples as if calming a major headache.

"Wait, so who are we fighting again?" At this, Jesse facepalms.

"Reaction definitely seemed mixed." Liam and Lukas spoke in unison. The two didn't even care that they were practically twins now. They were over this.

"That _had_ to get through to them. Otherwise, we're doomed. I don't know how exactly we're gonna pull this off, but it's gotta be good."

"We're gonna pull this off, don't worry." Lukas encouraged her.

"Yeah, you're _Jesse._ You somehow managed to pull everything off, from Sky City to Cassie Rose to PAMA- I'm pretty sure you're gonna be able to pull this off."

"Yeah, we can still do this!" Lukas agreed with his brother rather quickly, leaning down and kissing Jesse's forehead. A little 'awww' erupted from Jackie, making Liam remember he wanted to talk to her about something. Something he had the feeling of for tomorrow.

"Well, I guess we'll find out for sure in the morning." Ivor went over to Jesse, placing a hand on her back as he pushed her gently towards the dormitories.

"Hey, I'll be right in, alright? I have to talk to Jackie first." Liam looked at his brother.

"But Liam.. don't you remember what happened last night?" Lukas reminded him.

"Yeah, I can see that very clearly." Liam replied, adding a small smirk at the end. "Pun intended." Lukas just let out a chuckle as the others continued into the dormitories.

"Just be careful, alright?" Lukas gave his brother's shoulder a pat. Liam ruffled his brother's somehow-still-excellent hair.

"I will, bud. Don't worry. I guess I'll be taking the other bed. Don't do that with me in the room, though." Liam winked as he walked away.

"Hey!" Lukas called after him, a blush on his face. The younger brother just waved it off, giving a _pshhh_ and walking into the dormitories.

"Hey, Jackie." Liam greeted the purple-clad girl with a small smile. "You doing alright?"

"I'm more pumped than anything to get into that arena and stand by Jesse's side to get home." Jackie gave Liam a grin. She was practically vibrating, until she jumped forward and flung her arms around Liam's neck. Liam was taken aback by the sudden hug a little, but he chuckles as he hugs back for a moment. Jackie pulled away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I was so excited to get home and all." she apologized sheepishly, stepping back.

"No, you're fine! I'm always up for a free hug from anyone."

"Well, can I have another?"

"Of course!" Liam laughs, pulling her in for another. She pat his back a little, and suddenly, Liam was stuck in a huge group hug. Em, the remainders of Purple Team, and a few others stood to the side at the sudden hug. It was there that Liam realized that most of these people are around Lukas and Jesse's age. They needed this hug.

He never figured out that Jackie had actually pinned a sign that read "FREE HUGS" onto his back until later.

Haha. Adorable.

What if I timeskipped us right to the next morning?

Yeah, let's do that.

"Liam?"

"Yeah, Jesse?"

"Can I see your eye?" Liam looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He was the only one who had woken up early to accompany Jesse for breakfast before she would be off to finish the games for herself and for everyone else. "I'm sorry if it's weird, but I just find scars really, really cool and-"

"Go ahead." Liam shrugs, bending over a little bit to her height. Jesse turned in her seat, looking around to make sure that no one else would be looking to tease him or anything. Luckily, the only other few up were either talking in their respective teams, Jackie included, or sleeping on the table in a puddle of their own drool. She gently picked up the white-pink bandages and scooted them upwards. His eye was now a pure light blue, almost just like his brother, with a scar running upwards into and through it, cutting into his eyebrow a bit as well. The scar surely looked healed.

"Hm. It looks pretty healed if you ask me. But you're going to have to see Ivor about that." Jesse pointed out, covering the eye back up. "Are you going to have an eyepatch?"

"Probably for a little while. Not that I'm ashamed or anything, but I think it might scare him, you know?" Liam replied, getting back to the bread he was eating. Just like that, too, Lukas and Ivor came down, sitting across from Liam and Jesse.

"I saw you looking at his eye. Is everything alright?" Ivor asks Jesse before Lukas sat down, handing Ivor his ration for the morning.

"Yeah. Like I told him less than two minutes ago, it looks pretty much healed." Jesse shrugs. "But I told him to go to you first before anything else."

"A fine choice indeed." Ivor nodded, glancing down at his bread. Liam chuckles, seeing what he wanted more than doing medical stuff.

"You can eat first." he tells his friend, and Ivor munched up the bread.

"Make your little check-up quick." Harper approached Liam from behind, patting his back. "Liam and I better get going."

"Alright, alright, relax, McGonagall." Ivor scoffed, standing up and going around the table.

"And you're the one telling me to chill with the Harry Potter puns-" Harper began, but Lukas stood up, stepping between them.

"Hey, hey, we don't need this right now." Lukas looked back and forth at the two of them. "Ivor, let her enjoy Harry Potter, and Harper…" Lukes turned to Harper. "I'll admit, you are being a bit of a McGonagall, so just calm down a little. Liam's going to be ready in a few minutes, and Jesse's gotta get going as well." He told her, leaving her speechless.

"Dang, Lukas. Didn't know you had that in you." Jackie approached them. Lukas looks up at her, squinting a little.

"Do I remember you from somewhere?" Lukas asks her, and Liam laughs.

"She's a competitor snatched from our world, Lukas. Guys, meet Jackie." Liam introduced her.

"Wait, Jackie? Were you on the Ocelots?" Lukas stood, still looking at her.

"I… was…" Jackie hesitated a bit with her answer, slowly remember her friend's younger brother.

"Oh my god, you've been alive this whole time?" Lukas ran a hand through his hair. "It's me, Lukas- I _just_ joined your Ocelot group when you, well.." Lukas used air quotes, "'died.'"

"Yeah, I almost did die." Jackie admitted. "But what did happen was that Liam saved me from a bunch of spiders, then shortly after he let me go home, I was captured and brought here. Mined for quite some time, until now."

"Wait, what about the dead body they found?"

"My clothes were switched out, and probably put onto a zombie that looks like me." Jackie shook her head. "I'm just lucky that it was at least a girl who changed the clothes off of me."

"Wow…" Lukas whistled. While the two were chatting, reuniting, all that fancy stuff, Ivor was checking Liam's eye. He had asked Harper to get some bandages ready- just until they get an eyepatch for him. The older, bloodier eyepatch was tossed into a lava chute nearby as the fresher one was put on.

"Alright, well, I better get going. Lukas, keep Jackie and Ivor company until Harper comes back for you. I'm gonna have to get Petra back to Sky City World. If what Jesse said is true, that she's about to pop, then she can't exactly hang around much longer." Liam stood from his spot.

"What about that Reuben dude?" Lukas asks.

"He's going to come with me to Sky City World. Just hang out a little, you know?" Liam shrugs, taking a pickaxe from Harper and pocketing it, along with an iron sword.

"Alright." Lukas nods, satisfied with the answers he had received.

"Good luck, to both you two and to Petra and your boy." Ivor bade the two, and that reminded the others. Small choruses of 'good luck's were exchanged before Liam pat Jesse's back, looking down at her.

"Good luck, Jesse. I'll see you all soon." he nodded at them all before turning and heading away with Harper.

The duo were both just inside the palace when they could hear nothing. Absolute silence where they were. To Liam… it was deafening.

He and Harper crept along the pristine hallways in silence until Harper whispered,

"That's his office, up ahead." She pointed just up ahead of them, motioning to the large doors. Liam looked at her, just now realizing everything she's done for Jesse and co.. He brought up the matter just as they were halfway down.

"Hey, Harper, I realize that none of us have actually thanked you for what you've done to help us through this." Liam began, making Harper pause tinkering with the chip she had in her hand, yet they both kept walking. "So… thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, Liam." Harper gave him a smile. "But you're welcome." She shrugs with a nod. Liam smiles, his eye gazing back into the ground. Silence commenced from there on out.

Petra was muttering out incoherent words as she rested on her knees, leaning against the hard obsidian wall. Olivia was standing next to her in the confined space, massaging her.

"Petra needs food more than any of us. And I'm starving." Axel tells them. There was a small space that the four used to communicate. A groan from Petra, and he asked Olivia, "How's she doing?"

"If I'm honest… not really all that well." Olivia sighs, shaking her head. "You have a point… we weren't given any food at all. It's clear Petra needs food more than any of us."

"Hey, uh, I hate to interrupt, but I think I hear someone coming!" Reuben called to them in his broad voice. Sure enough, the sound of blocks being removed echoed through the room. Olivia turned around to demand Hadrian for food, some bread at least, but she was immediately silenced with a hand covering her mouth. Grabbing the hand and yanking it off, about to say some things, she heard a familiar voice ask,

"Is that the one with two girls?" Footsteps echoed as the person made their way over.

"Liam!" Axel exclaimed, making Petra stand and turn, squeezing past Olivia to see her fiance.

"Liam…!" Petra laughs out, her amazed expression replaced by an expression of pain.

"Don't worry, Peets, I'll get you out of here." Liam encouraged her, taking his pickaxe back out. "Both of you, back up. Harper, get Axel and Reuben out." Liam looked at the woman next to him. Olivia takes Petra by the shoulders, switching spots with her and protecting her from flying shards of iron. One caught just underneath her eye, making the cut bleed a little, but Olivia didn't worry about it much. She's had worse. The woman, Harper, nods and runs in front of Axel's cage, mining off the iron bars, doing the same to Reuben's cage. Liam quickly mined away the iron bars. "Axel, I'm gonna need your help in getting Petra out of here."

"You saying I'm fat?" Petra asks, raising a tired eyebrow at him, making Liam laugh a little. Axel nods.

"On my way, bud."

"Where's Jesse, Lukas, and Ivor? Weren't you supposed to be with them?" Olivia asks them as Harper helps Reuben out of his cage.

"It's Jesse that's left in the Games. Speaking of which, they should be almost over, if she's lucky." Harper answered for Liam as he and his friend help Petra out of the prison. Harper handed out some bread that she had snuck from Clutch's Kitchen.

"I got you double." Harper handed Petra two breads. Petra thanked the older woman and ate up the food quickly.

"How was she?" Liam asks Olivia, looking up at her while Petra just seemed to finally relax in his arms.

"She was definitely in pain, but those were only the contractions. She's close, Liam." Olivia told her after munching her own meal up.

"Woah, cool scar, dude!" Reuben complemented Liam, motioning to the eye covered in fresh bandages.

"Erm, thanks." Liam gave the man a smile, nodding.

"What happened?" Olivia asks, stepping up to observe it closer.

"Big brute got me good." Liam shook his head.

"Okay, enough. You all will have time to catch up later." Harper looked at them all. "We have a plan." She looked at Liam to explain.

"Yes. Axel, Olivia, you two will go with Harper to Hadrian's inventory room and take as many supplies as you can get. Don't forget to look for my brother's journal." He reminded the older woman, who nodded. "Reuben, you and I will be getting out of here. We have to get Petra back to the Sky City World in order for her to give a successful birth."

"Alright, cool, dude." Reuben nods.

"Everyone else got that?" Liam looked around him. Everyone nods, and they all went down the hallway before splitting up.

"Where could she have gone?!" Isa exclaimed, a hand on her forehead as she paced the living room. "She's supposed to be due today, right?" she asks Nath, who nods.

"Yeah. Today, she's supposed to give birth."

"And we _still_ don't have a midwife!" Milo added, groaning as he slid down his seat.

"Well, actually-" Maya began and Gil gave her a warning look. "Gil, he's our only hope." she protested back to him.

"No." he firmly spoke, crossing his arms at her from across the room.

"Gil-"

"No." He repeated. "Aiden will _not_ be helping. If anything, he's only going to make it worse for Petra and Holden."

"Wait, Aiden? What about him?" Isa looked at Milo, who only shrugs. She looked up at Maya. "What were you going to say about him?"

"Maya, don't you-" Gil began, but Maya ignored him.

"I'm sorry, Gil." she held a hand up to him to silence, and faced Isa. "Aiden's parents were doctors. He doesn't have experience, but he knows how to deliver a child. I know it'll be enough." Isa and Milo exchanged looks.

"Maya, that dude got my mother killed!" Nath stood up, Winslow jumping off of his lap as he did so.

"And we helped him, but look at where we are now." Maya shot back at the 12 year old, motioning to herself and Gil. "Look, just let him help with the childbirth."

"Well, I mean, having a male midwife is a bit weird, but if he's all we got…" Milo stood, going next to Maya. "Then I say we give him a chance."

"Thank you, Milo." Maya nods, crossing her arms. Nath and Gil VS. Maya and Milo. "Which side, Isa? Let him help or let Petra die with her child?"

Isa looked amongst them, before glancing down at the ground. She needed a moment to think this over.

"Okay. Okayokayokay…" She mumbled, as she came to a conclusion. "I'll allow him to help. But!" She paused, looking at them all. " _Everyone_ has to keep a close eye on him. We cannot let him go free like that. Do we understand?" Isa gave them a stern expression.

"Gil and I will help him help Petra." Maya met eyes with the former Founder. "We'll be with him the whole time. Or at least I will."

"Good. If it's successful for both Petra and Holden, then I'll shorten his time. If only one to none make it, then he remains there with the same sentence as before."

"Anything to allow him to help." Maya nods. Suddenly, the door swung open and a brute in khaki shorts and bright blue shirt entered the room.

"Watch out, dudes, pregnant woman being carried by cool scar dude comin' through!" the man called out, getting out of the way for 'pregnant woman being carried by cool scar dude.'

"Liam!" Nath and Isa exclaimed in unison, as he made his way past them, still carrying Petra.

"Liam, what's happened? H-how did you find Petra?" Milo asks him as they all follow Liam to the bedroom.

"Gil, Maya, you two go get Reggie and tell him to bring Aiden here. We're going to need his expertise." Isa told the two in the background. The couple nods and run out of the house.

"She was captured, and don't worry, it was none of your faults. I don't blame any of you. Mevia and Hadrian are pretty powerful." At that, Isa paused.

"Mevia and Hadrian? You mean to tell me you got trapped in those stupid Games?!" Isa exclaimed, catching up to him.

"Harper's helping us out, Isa, calm down-" Liam paused to set Petra on the bed. "What do we do now? I was only like, four or five when Lukas was born so I don't really know this kind of stuff-"

"Did her water break yet?" Nath asks, looking up at Liam. Liam looked behind him and down at Petra, who shook her head.

"No, not yet." he answered for her. As if right on cue…

" _God dammit NOW it broke!"_

Jesse, clad in the very pristine white armor of the former legend of 'Tim,' swung the enchanted diamond pickaxe downwards at the obsidian block and it went out with one _bonk_. Hadrian, the man who had let power get to his mind, the man who corrupted people into coming to battle unwillingly, the man who forced her friends from home, the man in the purple suit, fell down. Down, down, down into the grinder that killed him. Just as the said grinder smashed him to bits, Jesse felt a pang on the back of her stomach. She thought it was the guilt getting to her, but she overrode it, knowing this is what Hadrian deserved. The brunette turned around and hopped off of the obsidian beam, making her way to the shade of a tree. She had more armor on than she usually could withhold, so it was a bit hot for her.

"Jesse, you did it!" Lukas laughs a little as he approaches her. "Again!" he added quickly. "Feels like I say that a lot." He gave her his side-lopped grin.

"I couldn't have done anything without all of you!" Jesse exclaimed, making Lukas blush a little. Axel crossed his arms and everyone else just smiles.

"Well done, Jesse. An excellent job." Otto complemented from behind them. Harper was putting away the diamond pickaxe she used to free everyone.

"Ehm, thanks, Otto." Jesse returned her smile to the older man.

"You have truly showed my friends and I the error of our ways. I'm glad to put this whole messy business behind us."

"I didn't. We all did."

"Hey, speaking of friends and all that… should we see how Petra's holding up?" Ivor asks Jesse, looking up at her, making Jesse drop the helmet as she suddenly remembered.

"Don't forget about the Atlas, though." Harper reminded her as the brunette picked up the helmet she dropped, wiping it free of the grass that haf gotten on it.

"How about we get whatever's yours, decide what happens to those two imbeciles," Harper pointed behind her at the Gladiators beating Hadrian and Mevia to pulps. "- and get back into the hallway. You can get the Atlas from there."

"Harper does have a point, Jesse. You have fairly defeated them. Seems only fair you get to decide their fate." Otto commented, looking at Jesse. Everyone else stood in front of her, and she caught Olivia's eye. An idea came to mind. "And with the Atlas, you can send them anywhere you want."

"You know, there was this game Olivia and I used to play back in our treehouse…" Jesse began, hoping Olivia would get the idea.

"Huh?" Nope.

"Remember? We called it 'Which would you rather fight-?'" Jesse pressed on, and Olivia's eyes widened in realization.

They were all walking down the stairs and back into the portal hallway as Jesse was finishing up another story.

"Okay, let me get this straight." Olivia began, making Jesse turn around to her. "Petra was pregnant up through the Two Moons World, you called it, right?"

"Yes, and yes, Two Moons World." Jesse nodded.

"So in a freaking _murder mansion_ -" Olivia began.

"Oh-kay, Olivia, relax. Give Petra her earful when she's done being in so much pain. And stop asking Jesse questions." Lukas stepped forward. Man. All this guy does is settle arguments and calm people. Don't blame him for being such a cinnamon roll! *~*

"Goodbye, Jesse! Thank you!" the Tim Fangirl called out through the Hall, and Jesse waved before the blonde walked into the portal that took her home.

"That all of them?" Harper asks Otto, who stood nearby the portal.

"Everyone that wants to go home, anyhow. Except you folks. You still have one more stop to make, right?" Jesse nods in reply to Otto, who continued. "Can't believe how many competitors want to stay and keep playing the Games." Otto looked at Jesse with a nod. "And thanks to you, my intrepid new friend, I can actually focus on making the Games _fun_ again."

"And you promise that they'll _stay_ fun, this time?"

"Oh yes. I don't intend to let the Games get corrupted as they did before." Otto gave her an approving nod. Slab, one of the big brutes who helped in the Games as a Gladiator, walked up to Jesse.

"And I'm gonna help too. You taught me a lot about fairness, Jesse, and I'd like to use that knowledge for something good." Jesse gave Slab a nod, looking up at him as he turned around to meet Lukas. "And speaking of fairness… I think this belongs to you." The man pulled a worn-out book from his inventory, and handed it over.

"My journal!" Lukas grins, taking it from Slab and opening it to confirm that it was, indeed, his journal.

"Lots of good stuff in there. You had me really moved."

"Awesome." Lukas grins, before pocketing the journal. Slab turned and headed towards a portal before hopping through.

"Huh. Guess he wasn't so immovable after all." Ivor punned, his arms crossed. Jesse looked down, then back up at Em. She was all that remained in the Hall of Portals.

"Well, Em- how about you? You said you wanted to go home, right?" she asks.

"Yeah, but I can't decide what it is that we want, exactly." Em began. "I mean, you get to leave and go on more adventures." She looked away and crossed her arms. "Do I really want to go back to farming?"

"Well, you could help Otto with the Games. I mean, he's restarting them- you could lend a hand?" Jesse suggested. That made Em perk up a little.

"Jesse, that's an awesome idea. We can actually make them fun- perhaps I could be the Head Gladiator.."

"Yeah!"

"Thanks, Jesse, I needed that." Em grins, before heading back up the stairs. "Hey, I wish your friend the best of luck with his family!" she called behind her before disappearing. Jesse turned and noticed Ivor, basically staring at Harper.

"Hey, Ivor." Jesse approached the Potions Master. Ivor jumped a little at her sudden presence.

"Oh! Hey, Jesse." Ivor greeted her.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asks, teasingly.

"I was just observing Harper all by herself over there."

"Yeah, _observing_." Jesse teased again, making Ivor turn a little red at the cheeks and roll his eyes at his friend. Jesse laughs. "Come on." she bade, waving him along. "Hey Harper." she greeted.

"Oh, hey, Jesse, Ivor. I was just watching the folks head on home." Harper rubbed at the back of her head. "Things really worked out, huh?" She then sighs. "Well, I guess this is goodbye. I have to head on back to Crown Mesa, see how the post-PAMA construction is doing." Harper shook her head, her arms crossed. "It not my real home, but it's been close enough for a little over half of my life now." Harper admitted with a shrug.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll come around." Jesse reassured her.

"I just hope you're right." Harper replied. Ivor just made a _pshhh_ sound, rolling his eyes.

"You'll be _fine._ Getting over the 'I was a bad guy' hump can be awkward, it hopefully soon they'll invite you right back into their arms. Right Jesse?" Ivor looks at the brunette next to him. Harper walked up to Ivor.

"You sure are a strange man Ivor. But you know something? You're okay." Harper gave him a smile, making him look away and rub at the back of his head awkwardly. "And don't forget- turn to page 394." she winked at him, before turning around and beginning her way to her own home portal. "Hey, take care of each other, alright? And I'll see you around. Wish Liam luck for his family!" she called behind her as she continued on down the hallway.

"Bye!" Jesse bade, and turned back around to face the others.

"Yes! Goodbye!" Ivor called out to her. When he thought Jesse didn't hear him… "You're amazing."

"So, we better get on to Sky City World." Lukas began, and Jesse noticed her boyfriend was a little jumpy.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Petra would be at least in early labor now, if she wasn't already." Olivia added on, no longer showing her anger about the fact.

"Well, before you all go, Jesse better take the Atlas. Deal's a deal and all that." Otto told the excited uncle. Otto took out the book, it's blue and gold accents glowing in the dimmer of the Hall's chambers. Jesse took it and looked at Otto.

"Uhm. How does it work?" she asks, raising an eyebrow in her confusion.

"Now you just say where you want to go… And the Atlas will show you the way." Otto grins, and Jesse looked down at the book. "Why don't you just go ahead and open it?"

"Alright, book. Do your magic and take us to our friend, Petra." Jesse opened the book, and a stream of glowing accents came from the open pages. It led them right to the familiar Sky City World portal.

"Woah, hey, what?!" Aiden was shoved into a room by Gil and Maya. "What? Now?" he asks them, as Isa ushered Nath out around them.

"Nath's done all he can as a 12 year old, Aiden. It's your turn." Gil told his old friend.

"And we'll be helping you." Maya added. Aiden paused, then glanced behind him at Liam who was helping Petra maintain a breathing pattern. His eyes met the floor as everything came flowing back to him naturally.

"Okay, Gil." Aiden faced his friend, who nodded. "I need you to get stone, a cauldron, a bucket of water, a furnace, and a lot of sticks and something that can be cooked." He looked over at Maya, "And you- get some blankets, small and large."

"Got it!" the two spoke in unison, nodding before Gil left the room and Maya went to a chest nearby. Aiden turned around, approaching Liam and Petra. He noticed that Isa and Nath had already gotten the scene set.

"You sure you got this, Aiden?" Liam asks the brunet. Of course, the father was wary of what Aiden would do.

"I've been taught how to do this, Liam- I just never put it to good use until now. Please, you can trust me. I'll make sure both your fiancee and child are healthy after this." Aiden told him, and Liam pondered over his words a little before nodding.

"Do what you gotta do, then."

Jesse, Lukas, Ivor, Axel, and Olivia all followed the stream through the portal and when they landed, they were back on the bridge that led Liam, Lukas, Jesse, and Ivor right into Sky City. Well, the remains of Sky City anyways.

"There's a waterfall up ahead that we can take to get on the ground!" Jesse called out to her friends as she sprinted right towards the fallen city- well, not _actually_ fallen, but- oh, you know what I mean.

Just as they were nearing the end, Jesse slid, before falling off the edge and into the flow of the water. After she was safely inside the stream, she looked up to find all her friends behind her.

When the New Order plus a member of the Old Order made it safely into the lake, Axel exclaimed,

"It's almost nightfall- we better find where they're at and quick!" Jesse quickly pulled out the book, ignoring the whispers and the beginning of cheers aimed at them, mainly her. The accents came out and led them right down the streets.

"Let's go!" Jesse called, and began to sprint through the streets.

Screams came from the other room, all screams of pain. Isa, Milo, Reuben, and Nath were all seated in the living room. Except for Reggie, who stood at the doorway. Reuben made small chat with Milo, but their room still fell silent. The closest they could get was just listening.

Their hearing and thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open.

"What's happening now?" Jesse asks Isa, and Nath shushed her.

"It's been almost five hours since her water broke and she went into labor. Just listen- that's all we can do right now." Nath told her, and Winslow mewed in his lap. Jesse looked up at Isa, silent. The blackette nodded. The newcomers took a seat- Olivia and Axel near each other on the floor, Jesse and Lukas right next to each other and holding hands, and Ivor… well, being Ivor, he just pulls out a book and begins to read.

 **(Okay- now, this isn't** _ **too**_ **descriptive, but, well, just read with caution, please?) (If you don't like scenes like these- please continue on to the next bold- which isn't that far.)**

In the other room, though, Petra had a firm grip on Liam's hand as both Gil and Maya held her legs still. Aiden got the blankets set for when he would need them.

"Almost there!" Aiden called out to her, as Petra groaned from the pain. Minutes later… "Push! Now!"

"Is that Aiden I hear?" Lukas asks in a low voice up at Reggie. The captain nods, arms crossed as he still stood guard at the door.

"He'll be staying out of his cell until they all don't need his help anymore." Isa informed Jesse and her friends.

"We trust him with this, but we don't trust him fully." Milo reassured them. It was silent, except for Petra's cries and Aiden's commands.

"I see the head, keep pushing!" Aiden calls out to them, and Petra let out a grunt as she pushed.

 **(We're cool. There's still a little more, but it's not as bad.)**

"Come on, Petra, you got this, you're Petra the Warrior-" Liam rooted her on, but his roots were drowned out in another loud grunt and a pop sounded. Petra's iron grip on his hand released as Aiden stood, the cries of the newborn baby in his arms.

"Congrats, you two. It's a boy, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that." Aiden smiles and Gil picked up a blanket, releasing Petra's leg as Aiden put the baby into the blanket Gil had, and Gil handed the baby boy to his parents. Said baby boy was still wailing, and the cord was still connected for the time being. The boy's small head was resting on Petra's collarbone as she held him close.

For probably the first time in years, Petra cried. And these tears were tears of joy. A hand was gently placed on the other side of her head, pulling her in a little. Lips met her temple, as another hand helped hold their baby boy.

"You did it, love." Liam smiles down at her.

As soon as Petra's cries died down and were replaced by the cries of a baby boy, Jesse looked up at Lukas with a smile. Lukas's head rested back onto the bed he and Jesse were sitting against. He pulled her in for a hug, laughing a little. He heard some faint talking and the sound of people walking around in the other room, sounds of 'congrats' and 'great job, Petra' coming through the door. That was how everyone knew it was successful.

"You want to cut the cord, Liam?" Aiden asks him, as Gil picked up the boy from Petra's arms. Petra didn't want to let her child go so soon, but she allowed Gil to take him for the time being. She knew it was protocol, and she knew that he would be back in her arms soon. Liam stood, walking over to where Aiden was. As the cord was cut and disposed of in a lava chute, Maya and Aiden went to clean the baby with the warm water. Aiden turned and told Gil to take over for him, to just take the rag and gently wipe the boy clean. Liam went back over to Petra's side, whispering her a small 'get some rest' as he took her hand again.

"Hey, ah, I don't know if they actually do this, going back to congratulate their patients like this, but Petra- amazing job. You did real well for your first time. And Liam, thanks for helping out when you could." Aiden looked down. "I do realize I was a jerk, and I also wanted to apologize for everything. And I wanted to thank you for trusting me to help you." Liam looked down at Petra.

"No, Aiden. Thank you." Liam smiles up at him. "You _were_ a jerk, but I doubt you are anymore. Just keep up these good deeds you're doing now and I think they'll release you soon." Liam gave him a wink before looking down at Petra as Aiden walked off, back to tend to the baby. "Like I said, get some sleep, alright? I'll tell the others how it went." He smiles down at her, then kisses her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." Petra mumbled back, slowly giving into sleep.

Liam stepped out of the room, as everyone stood up upon his entrance. Reggie got out of his way, allowing the blond through. Everyone looked at him with a hopeful look.

"Petra did amazing, and he's handsome." was all Liam said before Nath sprung forward and into Liam's arms, making the blond laugh a little.

"Congratulations, Liam. You're officially a father- how does it feel?" Isa asks him.

"Well, it feels like everything has changed.. Yet everything's still the same, you know?" Liam replied as he let Nath back onto the ground. His brother approached him and pulled him into a hug. "You're an uncle, man. How does that feel?"

"Like everything has change, yet still the same."

"Why you steal my answers?" Liam asks, making the group laugh.

Liam was back in Petra's room, when Aiden came in with Reggie behind him, holding a bundle of green blankets.

"We didn't have any blue blankets, sorry." Reggie apologized, standing behind Aiden.

"And, well, I wanted to be the one to hand your kid back to you before I would be taken back to my cell." Aiden walked up to Liam, as Reggie hung back by the door. "I think Nath's got it from here." he added, as Liam stood up. "And that cauldron- I had Maya fill it with carpeting as a temporary crib until you get around to a proper one back home. Don't worry, it's safe." Aiden reassured him, before handing over the baby. "Thanks for giving me a chance, and, well, I hope to see you soon." Aiden bade, and Liam gave the brunet a smile.

"Thanks. As I've said before, keep it up." Liam told him, before Aiden nods and turned around, nodding at Reggie as he left the room, the captain in tow. Liam then looks down at his little boy, then back up at Petra. Through all the portal hopping, he had some ideas of names, but he wanted to hear from her first. Most of them were girl names, which were pretty much eliminated. He does realize that he wanted a boy and was given a boy, but all the names he really liked were girls' names. There was Theodore ("Theo" for short), Jayden ("Jay" for short), and Jaime. Again, he wanted to hear from Petra first.

Looking back down at him, he noticed there was a faint tuft of Petra's dark red hair and no sign of freckles… yet. Probably. But, the boy also had Petra's skin- heck, everything about the child's looks was all Petra. Perhaps he would have his father's personality and eyes? _Can't get my hopes too high- besides, I would love anyway._ Liam thought, bring a hand out and stroking his boy's head. He was asleep, but Liam could tell by the way he moved in comfort that he liked it.

Liam smiles. He couldn't believe that a little over a year was all it took for his life to change and come this far. A little over a year ago, he found his brother again. A few weeks after that, less than a month later, he earned himself a girlfriend. Now, almost a year later, he's got a family with the love of his life (the girlfriend, of course) and he's going to be married to the same woman.

Yeah, life was a roller coaster, but he wouldn't mind spending it with these amazing people he calls his friends and family.

"Ready to head on home?" Liam asks little Nath, who held Winslow. Nath nods. Everyone was grouped in front of the exit portal. Petra was back in excellent health, a little chubby from being unable to exercise during pregnancy, but she would burn off all that fat in less than a week. Liam was the one holding their son, whose name they had agreed on to be Holden, Petra's name. Liam agreed, it was much better than Theo or Jay. (Perhaps the next kid. *lenny face*)

Speaking of which, Holden had opened his eyes. Turns out he had his father's eyes. The stormy gray that seemed to keep passing on through from his father, to Liam, to his son. Perhaps his grandson as well, but he wouldn't go that far yet.

"Let's go!" Jesse called out, and Petra looked back at Liam.

"You sure you got him?" she asks her man.

"Yes, I'm sure, Mama Bear." Liam teased, kissing her forehead. Maya and Gil had said their goodbyes earlier. Petra grinned, shaking her head at him while Jesse, Olivia, and Axel headed through first. Ivor, Nath (holding onto Winslow), and Lukas followed the three. Liam covered Holden's face with the blankets. "After you, m'Lady." Petra took his words and ran in, the blond following after her, holding Holden close to him.

Jesse, Axel, Olivia, Lukas, Ivor, and Nath were all already heading to their home portal, and Petra and Liam ran to keep up.

"Huh, so it was one with the wood the whole time." Liam told himself. "Makes sense- it seems like our world is the most original, you know? All these other worlds are normal too, just… seems like our world branches out to these other ones." Liam snickered when he heard Lukas scribbling his exact words into his journal. They all finally entered the portal and, at long last, they were home.

Home.

Yeah. Home.

Now, even though they've gone through a Wither Storm and lots and lots of portals… their adventures aren't quite done yet.

 _Next time… in Holden Up The Worlds…_

 _Watch Holden as he grows under the care of his parents, Petra and Liam, and his older brother, Nath, along with a cat, Winslow. Holden has such a huge family looking after him, and no one could have it any other way._

 **Oh my god. I'm sobbing right now as I type this. I'm over halfway through this series to being over and** _ **I am not ready.**_

 **This has been such an amazing adventure so far- just writing stories for you. Oh my god, I'm crying, holy crap…**

 **This coming February, it'll be my one-year anniversary of being on FFN. Oh my god. Time passes fast when you're having fun, huh?**

 **But danngggg…. I'm mainly crying because of how far they've come from when I first began this series. How far I'VE come. I never expected to reach 20,000 views on 'A Wither Against The World' and that happened less than a week ago, oh my lord-**

 **Anyways, before I wake up my grandparents and brother due to sobbing loudly, I will just say-**

 **If you haven't seen my Twitter GirlOfMyWorld11, then you haven't seen that I'll be releasing one of two of my ficlets before doing HUTW. It's coming Sunday- that's October 2nd. Spoopy.**

 **As for HUTW- I'll have this story marked Complete, but there will be another chapter to tell you that I've released it. Like I said, working on a few ficlets before beginning, but don't worry- it'll be out before Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever you celebrate.**

 **So, questions- did you like this chapter? I sure did love taking two weeks to write a VERY LONG final chapter. I wanted to go out with a bang!**

 **How bout the series in general? Are you new or have you been with me since the very start?**

 **What do you expect in HUTW?**

 **Leave your reviews and I'll be sure to read them… tomorrow morning.**

 **It's 10:30 here, so I better go off to bed.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading this story, it's sad to see it come to a close, but I will see YOU, in another story, the sequel of the sequel- oh, whenever I see you.**

 **CIAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


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